What Happened to Tony's Heart?
by ThatOneAwkwardGeekintheCorner
Summary: Tony is learning that his Arc Reactor is killing him. Is he pushing Luna and Pepper far enough away where they will never come back? Meanwhile Luna is sensing a change in herself that may be dangerous. Will their family survive? Sequel to Proof Tony Stark Has a Heart, First few chapters will be pre Iron Man 2. Rating will be subject to change. AU
1. Catching Up

**Hey all. So here it is, What Happened to Tony's Heart? First and foremost I would like to say that if you have not read Proof Tony Stark Has a Heart you will not understand this story at all, so go read that first. Second, I have not finished writing this story, so until I do I will not be updating any new chapters, I think I may need around two to three weeks to finish it, I apologize for that, but I've been so swamped with vacation things and school summer work that I haven't had as much time to write this as I would have liked. This story is a little post Iron Man 2, but will run into Iron Man 2. **

**Disclaimer: The only thing that I own is my lovely OC Luna Stark.**

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Luna's POV

Today they are finally letting me out of the hospital! My ribs are finally healed, and they finally drained all of the fluid from my lungs. It felt absolutely exhilarating. Unfortunately for me, I have to wait for my dad to get back, which may take a while.

Tony -Dad- scheduled a press conference about a week after he got released from the hospital, which was a day after we got admitted. I am going on a month in the hospital now, and even though I had waited so long, now that freedom is in my grasp it seems too hard to wait for. So, instead of waiting around in boredom for the next few hours, I decided to watch the conference.

The conference was called because apparently someone had seen Dad and I in the labs, and there were so many rumors going around about what happened, Dad and I agreed it would be best to address it publicly. Originally we wanted to tell the world the truth, but then Phil intervened. Phil Coulson is an agent for the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division. Quite a mouthful. When he introduced himself to me I actually choked on my drink. To which he brushed off politely. Anyway, he is making Dad lie and say that Thompson did capture me, and abused me (but didn't torture me, it'll raise more suspicion apparently), that Thompson was killed in a lab accident that happened when Dad got there. Really, really dumb excuse, I honestly wouldn't care if the scumbag got exposed, but apparently it's bad for the government's image, so they won't let us tell the truth.

I turned on the TV; I don't exactly feel ready to hear all of the bullshit. A part of me wants to be there and tell everybody just how much of a sneaky, conniving, complete asshole Thompson was. But another part of me is glad I'm here so I don't have to deal with all of the looks of pity. The press will believe Dad that I got abused regardless if I am there or not. If I was there they would see the marks of abuse on my body, and because I'm still in the hospital it works out so they know my injuries were really bad. Actually my release from the hospital works out perfectly because if they heard that I am home they probably would think that we are lying about me being injured. Either way a part of me is glad that I'm not there because I wouldn't be able to stand there and lie to everybody and tell them that he abused me and didn't torture me and tell them that he was an asshole, but not tell them just to the extent of which he was an asshole.

I finally found the channel that the conference was on, and after a deep breath, I clicked ok.

Dad is standing behind the podium, looking completely at ease, relaxed even. I know that it's just because he's been in front of crowds his whole life, but it's still unnerving. I will never be that comfortable in front of a crowd.

"And now Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you."

I held my breath, studying my father closely. He was smiling at the crowd, though the smile wasn't quite reaching his eyes. I had noticed that. Lately he had been going through all of the motions, but he didn't seem fully there. I know that something is wrong. I _know_ it. But he won't tell me.

He gave the crowd a charming smile as flashes flashed and there was a hush in the room. "Been a while since I've been standing up here," he remarked as though he was surprised by this. "I think I'll just stick to the cards this time," the crowd laughed and he smiled again. He always knows how to charm a crowd.

"I know a lot of you have heard about the incident in the labs, and the one at my company-" he started to explain, but he was cut off by a reporter.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that there was a body guard in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that yo-"

Dad looked irritated now, looking down at the woman with distaste. That emotion only showed for a moment though, and I'm sure that I am the only one who caught it. "Look I know that it's confusing. It's one thing to question the official story but it's another thing to make wild accusations or insinuate that I am a superhero," he said with conviction. Smirking at what he thought was an affective shut down.

My jaw slowly dropped. I can't believe what he just said. He was basically just tricked into saying the truth by a dumb reporter. Dad. You just let out your secret to the whole world. You better be able to fix this.

"I never said that you were a superhero," the reporter contradicted, proving my assumption right. At this moment I wished that I was standing next to him so I can steer him in the right direction. But I'm not. I can only watch this conference go haywire.

Her reply wiped the smirk completely off of Dad's face and I could practically see him running frantically in his head, trying to fix the mistake he had just made. "Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish, fantastic," he admitted under his breath and I held on to the bedspread tightly. He is totally blowing this! "With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made-largely public."

He's starting to ramble now. With every word I was getting more and more on edge. Luckily the nurses had already disconnected me from my heart rate monitor because I probably would have alerted the nurses of my distress. Luckily Rhodey leaned in and said something to Dad, probably telling him to use the cards.

"Yeah okay, yeah," he said with a sort of finality, and I knew that he had just made a really big decision. He let the cards drop from his hand, and my jaw dropped. "Fact of the matter is, I am Iron Man."

The room exploded with noise and flashes of light from the cameras in the room flashed madly. To Dad's credit, he didn't look bothered at all, in fact, he looked smug.

Once the room had somewhat died down there was a shout. "What about Iron Maiden!"

Dad actually looked somewhat intrigued by this. He leaned towards the podium microphone. "I'm sorry what?"

The room instantly quieted and the person repeated their question shyly as the cameras swung to record them. "The Iron Maiden. That person that fights with you sometimes. Who is she? Is she Pepper Potts, your assistant?" He asked, shrinking backwards from the cameras' view.

Dad started laughing a little before he could regain his composure. "No, Potts? Crime fight? No, Potts is amazing at what she does but she doesn't fight crime. Iron Maiden though, that's good, I like it. No, as of right now, her identity will not be revealed unless she is comfortable in doing so." Dad said firmly, as if he wanted someone to challenge him.

No one did, probably because he had just announced that he is Iron Man, so nobody wanted to mess with him or test his patience quite yet. I am still trying to wrap my head around that. Everybody knows who he is now. Does he know how many enemies he just made?

"What exactly happened in the labs?" a reporter yelled.

Dad promptly took out his phone, hacked into a TV, and played video from the security cameras I guess. He never told me he had that video. "I had to cut out some more graphic parts because this is live television, but you'll get the gist of it," Dad announced. He was promptly escorted from the room by Rhodey, while the video was still playing.

I picked up my phone and selected his number and called it.

"Hello," he said right when he picked up the phone. I could vaguely hear Pepper yelling in the background at him.

"Do you know what you just did!" I yelled angrily. I don't know exactly where this is coming from, but I continued on. "You just put yourself in so much _more_ danger, Dad! Now you're not just vulnerable as Iron Man, but people will go after you_ when you are trying to be normal_. Nothing is_ ever_ going to be the same anymore!" I yelled angrily into the phone. Nurses who were walking by the room looked in, concerned, but didn't actually come in.

"Don't worry. I'll be able to protect you and Pepper. Iron Man technology won't reach anywhere else for years. I'll talk to you about it when I get to the hospital," he said reasonably before he hung up.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed in frustration. He doesn't know how much stress he can put on people! Not only is he putting his own life in danger, he's putting Pepper's life in danger, Rhodey's life, Happy's life –'and my life'- a small voice said indignantly. I can protect myself, but Pepper and Happy…

He thinks that just when we are with him our lives are in danger, but they aren't! Any time we go out we are now in danger. If a terrorist wants to grab Pepper, they could, they could get her on her way to work, while she _is at work. _While she's at home. Any time.

I sighed resignedly and buried my head in my hands. Iron Maiden. A small laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. It's fitting. Though my suit isn't made of iron, I get where they got it from.

But now all I'll be seen as is some side-kick to Iron Man, with a name like that…

About an hour later they finally got back. "Hey Moon. You ready to go? I was feeling pizza." He said quickly. He looked like he was trying to rush me out for some reason.

"Yeah, but I can't go out like this, I only have pa-" I started to say.

"Nonsense, you're fine. You look lovely." He said hurriedly and pulled me to my feet, giving me a quick kiss on my forehead.

I was still in my pajamas. The doctors were afraid that if I was given normal clothes that I would have snuck out of the hospital, which I probably would have. He pulled me to my feet, and I slipped my feet into my sneakers. "Okay. But we still need to talk about what happened, you can't just pretend that nothing-"

"Tony!" Yelled a voice from down the hall.

Dad's whole body slumped in defeat. "Damn it." Then he rounded on me. "You see what you do? If you had just been a little quicker I could have-"

"Tony!" Pepper exclaimed again, Happy hot on her heels. She was walking angrily towards us, nurses moving quickly to get out of her way as she stormed towards us. "Do you seriously think that you can just run away from me?" She asked, stopping in front of Dad angrily. I stifled a laugh with my hand. Dad was currently looking around for something to distract Pepper with, but it seems he couldn't find anything.

"It was more of an ambition. Anyway, I don't see the bad in what I did. You're always saying I need to tell people the truth." He argued.

"Guys, maybe we should take this back in the-"

"No- no we'll do this right here. You don't just go _telling_ people that you are Iron Man, Tony. It's dangerous. You have just made so many people hate you."

"We'll be _fine _Pepper! I just finished the Mark 5 and now we'll be able to-"

"Wait what?" I interrupted, looking at my Dad hurtfully. "You said that we were going to finish that together."

I was actually really hurt. He said that that would be out project. Something that we could do together. What had gotten into him lately? I was used to him being forgetful, but this was something entirely different. He blatantly forgot a promise.

He looked down at me, flabbergasted, and then realization dawned on his face. "I forgot, with everything going on. We can-"

"No, no it's fine." I replied, effectively cutting him off. "It's your suit. It was kind of silly of me to want to be a part of it." I said, partly hurtful and partly because I wanted him to feel bad. I turned to Pepper who was looking at me with sad eyes. "Can I have my clothes so we can go?"

Pepper handed me the bag that had my clothes in them, and I could see her glaring at Dad as I walked into the bathroom to change.

The ride back to the house was awkward. It was mostly filled with glares sent from Pepper to Dad, and Dad sending Pepper grins and smirks back. I on the other hand was busy.

Brandon and I had gotten a lot closer over the month I was in the hospital. He was a really great friend, even when I was going through tough times. Apparently my old friends, Alyssa, Dylan, and Bell had decided that while I was in the hospital was the best time to tell me that we aren't friends anymore. I had kind of guessed that much. They looked pretty uncomfortable at the party when I got back from the hospital the first time, but it still stung. They said that they couldn't possibly deal with the fact that I am Tony Stark's daughter. They liked me better when I wasn't famous apparently, and now I was too much of a big shot to be friends with them.

That's where Brandon stepped in. He may or may not have egged Dylan's house. I didn't ask him to, but it did make me feel better when he told me that he did. He also brought me flowers. My room was absolutely filled to the brim with flowers, but his were more meaningful. Sure I loved Tony's and Pepper's, and all of the flowers sent by his company's affiliates, but those flowers were from someone who wasn't expected to give me anything, and that's what made all the difference.

**_Please get me out of this car. Pepper is mad at Dad, and Dad is trying to make her laugh. It's so weird. _**I sent to Brandon.

After a few short moments he replied, **_I can if you really want me to, but I feel like your dad may kill me. He's kind of scary, especially now that I know he's Iron Man._**

I laughed, just a little too loud, and I realized with dread that I had caught Dad's attention.

"Who are you texting? Is it that Brandon kid?" He asked with a grumble. Though Dad wasn't the best at parenting, he managed to catch on to the 'overprotective dad' part quite well.

I sighed. "Yeah, I don't see what you have against him, Dad, he's really nice to me, and he is one of my only friends at this school. Please don't ruin it for me," I pleaded. I really like Brandon, not in _that way_, not yet at least. He's been a really great friend to me lately, and I don't want to lose him.

Dad scoffed and I scowled at him. "For a smart kid you really can be oblivious. He _likes_ you, Luna, that's why he's being so nice to you," he said not unkindly, but more in a sophisticated way. He leaned back in his seat and gave me a wide grin. "I'm just doing what dads are supposed to do."

I blushed slightly, but I didn't look away. "Oh, what, he likes me?" I asked, scoffing, "Fat chance. And what about you? I _know_ that you like someone, you're just too bigheaded to tell her." I retorted.

Dad looked taken aback by this, and when I looked over at Pepper she looked genuinely hurt. _Shit. Pepper no, no, no he likes you! Not someone_ else.

Dad hadn't noticed Pepper yet, though. "So, I'm an adult I can like someone if I want." He said childishly.

I laughed. "An adult? Is that what you think you act like? If you like her so much, why don't you be a man and tell her?" I asked, testing him.

Dad looked from me to Pepper, who was currently looking at the floor of the limo. Then he looked at me and mouthed '_Should I?'_

I nodded condescendingly to him and gestured towards Pepper. If I get these two together I am a genius.

"Pepper I-"

There was a sniffle from Pepper that was quickly turned into a cough. "No, Mr. Stark, don't worry about me. It's good that you are finally settling down."

She sounded genuinely hurt, and I shot Dad a look that said 'See! Go for it'.

But to my surprise, Dad shook his head. Why is he always pushing people away lately? If he were willing to show Pepper what I think he feels for her they would both be together. Not the most stable relationship, but they would be together.

We pulled into the driveway, and I felt relieved. At least I can finally be comfortable in my own home now.

"Shit," Dad said suddenly, whipping his head towards the window.

"What, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly. If some sort of terrorist is outside of the car right now I am going to be extremely irritated.

"I forgot to- stay in the car for, like, two minutes. Ms. Potts, follow me please." He said hurriedly and rushed from the car.

I moved up to the small window that separates the driver from the back of the limo. "What's up with that, Hap?" I asked.

Happy swiveled in his seat to look back at me. "I can't say what it is, but I can say that you are going to be excited."

I nodded and sat back. I had already gotten so many Christmas presents. Christmas, which had passed while I was in the hospital, was extravagant despite being confined to the hospital. When I woke up my bed was surrounded by presents, which was strange. In the orphanage I got very few presents. What I got was usually clothes that were already pre-owned, and a few toys, but that was it. Life with Thompson was even worse; I got even worse torture sessions, I guess it was good in a way. It taught me while I was young that life is full of disappointments. Of all of the presents that Pepper and Tony gave me, the scrapbook was by far the best.

The scrapbook consisted of pictures I didn't even know were taken. Some of Dad and I, of Dad Pepper and I, and some of me by myself. The best one of all of them had to be when we were at the hospital's cafeteria. I looked exhausted and pale, in an AC/DC shirt and a pair of pajama pants. Dad and Pepper had just come from SI, so they were in very professional clothes, and we all looked genuinely happy.

There were two loud beeps from outside of the limo, and I jumped. "I think that's your queue, Luna," Happy announced. He leapt out of the car before I could even get to the door. When the door was opened my jaw dropped in shock.

It was a car that I practically had drooled over at every car show I had ever gone to. A silver 1998 McLaren F1 was parked perfectly so I could see it from the open door. "Holy shit…" I muttered, completely in awe. I was paralyzed; complete shock had gripped my body.

I got out of the limo, I felt like I had stepped into a dream. I ran my finger along the body of the car, stopping along the way. The car was in pretty bad shape. It looked okay from the outside, but what I felt with my telekinesis, a habit I had picked up when it came to looking at cars. When I was in and out of orphanages I had taken to visiting car shows. I wasn't allowed to touch them, so I lurned how to touch the cars in another way. This car felt like a lot needed to be replaced and fixed. I felt slightly disappointed. The car was beautiful, but there was no way that I could drive it in this state.

I don't understand how Dad, the car collector, could have missed that. I tried to hide my disappointment as best as I could, the thought is what counts anyway… I gave Dad a smile, brightening at his wide grin. "Thanks Dad, it's really awesome, I don't even know what to say…" I said, feeling tears form in the corners of my eyes. I buried my head into his chest, giving him a tight hug.

"You're welcome, sweetie. I know it doesn't run, but I figured you could fix it, put that mechanics class skills to work. It's what I did with all of my cars. I bought them like this and then fixed them." He explained, kissing my forehead.

My eyes shone in excitement. Of course I can fix it. I hadn't even thought of that possibility before, and now it seems so clear. It will truly be _my_ car if I fix it myself. "Thank you so much!" I exclaimed.

I looked over, and Pepper was looking at us happily, but I saw a look of longing deep in her eyes. I walked over to her, and hugged her tightly. "He likes _you, _Pepper," I whispered in her ear.

She looked shocked when I pulled away, but I nodded at her look of disbelief.

I turned to look at dad, who was hooking the car up to a hitch on his Audi so he could pull it into the lab. "Can I work on it now?" I called to him.

"Course you can, kiddo, but we're going out to eat at eight, so you have to stop by six," He replied over his shoulder. "I already have some parts downstairs for you to start working with," He added.

I squealed in excitement and rushed as quickly as my still healing ribs would allow me to my room so I could change into a pair of jeans and a Black Sabbath tee shirt, and then rushed down to the lab. My car was already surrounded by spare parts, tables, and a box of tools I would need.

"JARVIS," I called to the house's AI system, "Can you make an interact-able holographic scan of the McLaren, please. Oh, and highlight everything that needs to be replaced or repaired in red." I added quickly.

"As you wish, Ms. Stark. Would you like me to compile a list of stores and websites that have parts for a 1998 F1 McLaren as well?" He asked.

I smiled. JARVIS, always thinking ahead. "Yes please."

The hologram of the car appeared by my face, and I grabbed it, sitting at the desk that Dad had put in for me. "Can you get rid of the body and the interior of the car please," I said aloud to JARVIS. Immediately, they were gone. This left me with only the inside of the car to deal with. JARVIS was also very helpful by providing labels of each individual piece of the car, though I didn't really need them.

First off, it seems that the whole engine needed to be replaced. The powertrain needed to be removed, wheel bearings, hubs, and locating pegs all needed to be replaced. The oil needed to be changed, tires re-aligned, tires replaced, one axle was bent, the wipers needed to be replaced, bumper was dented, the transmission was fried. From the looks of it, I wouldn't even be able to steer it either, with the condition that it was in.

"Dad, this is going to take me months." I sighed. I glanced over at him. He was sitting at his desk, with his Arc Reactor out. I was alarmed.

"Holy shit Dad!" I exclaimed, rushing over to him. Having his Arc Reactor out of his chest didn't seem good.

He quickly did whatever he was doing and popped it back into his chest. "What are you doing, are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

He was looking distracted. "Yeah, fine. Routine check, no need to worry." He explained offhandedly.

That doesn't sound like him… something is off. I looked him over. Now that he had his reactor back in his chest he was looking better, but the skin around the reactor wasn't looking too well. It was turning blue. He noticed my eyes, and buttoned up his shirt with a flourish.

"I'm fine, just some leftover bruising from last month." He explained easily.

I nodded right away. My ribs were still heavily bruised, and I still had some cuts, so it would make sense that he was all bruised up too.

Later that night we went out to eat. I wanted to hide as much of my bruising as possible, which wasn't really that hard, but the long line of stitches that went down my shoulder blade wasn't. When the Metue Mihi bit me last month

it left some lasting damage. I decided on wearing a pale pink dress that was a little shorter than the navy dress was, but it had straps that effectively hid my stitches. I also had my hair straight and not curled just to make sure that I could hide my injuries.

"Wow," A voice said from my doorway. I turned to smile at Pepper as she walked in. "You got ready without my help. You look really beautiful,"

I looked at Pepper with a grin. She was wearing a short green cocktail dress, and it was very flattering to all of her features. "You look stunning, Pep." I complimented.

She laughed. "So, is what you said earlier really true?" Suddenly serious, Pepper gave me a questioning look.

I frowned internally. I was so sure that Dad likes Pepper, but right now something else seemed to be on his mind. "Yes it is true. He likes you; I just think that he needs time right now. I think that something is bothering him right now, he isn't as focused as he usually is." I explained, hoping that I was explaining it well enough and wasn't screwing anything up.

Pepper nodded. "I've noticed that too. Lately it seems like something is bothering him."

I nodded. Pepper walked out of the room, and I followed. "This is probably a really bad time to go out to eat." I commented, realizing what had just happened today fully.

Pepper turned and gave me a questioning look, raised eyebrows telling me to continue. "Well, Dad _did_ just announce that he is Iron Man, I'd imagine that the media would be out looking for him."

"Already thought of that!" Dad called from the kitchen. Pepper and I both exchanged looks before we ventured into the kitchen together.

I immediately smiled. The kitchen was adorned with candles, not in a romantic way, but as if we were at a restaurant. Dad was standing next to the bar in a suit, black with a red dress shirt and black tie. He was smiling brightly at us, but as always, his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Please don't tell me you cooked!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself.

Pepper laughed loudly and walked into the kitchen behind the bar while I looked around the room nervously, half expecting to see smoke that I hadn't noticed before. "Now why would you think that- I happen to be a great cook, in fact-"

"Don't worry, Luna, we're safe," Called Pepper from behind the bar. I walked over to see what she was saying. She held up two large pizza boxes for me to see that were hiding in the oven. I laughed too, feeling a slight pain in my ribs from doing so.

"Damn it," Dad said under his breath as he ushered Pepper out of the kitchen and on to a barstool. "I thought I hid it in a good place this time." He complained.

I sat on a stool next to Pepper, grinning as he brought us plates of greasy pizza. Usually when it's just me and Dad we don't even use plates. We just use napkins, or our hands, whichever is readily available at the moment. "Pepperoni again?" I asked loudly. I'm not a huge pepperoni fan, but I will eat it.

"Pepperoni is my favorite," Dad said simply as he took his seat next to me, ruffling my hair as he sat down.

"Don't!" I yelped and swatted his hand away, "Come on that took me a half an hour," I complained, trying to fix it.

Dad looked dumbfounded. "_That_ took you a _half an hour_? It looks like it always does!" he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes at him and took a bite of my pizza. "No, no, no, it does _not_. I straightened this. See? It's straighter," I said to him, turning my head to him so he could see my hair better. "_And_ it wasn't frizzy before you touched it," I added, giving him a pointed look.

He held up his hands in defeat and I distinctly heard Pepper give a little laugh. "So, what do you plan on doing for the rest of the year before college?" Pepper asked.

I shrugged. I didn't really know. It was only January. With all of the time in the hospital I had gotten so ahead in my schoolwork that I had finished all of it. My teachers were dumbfounded. They decided that because I had already done all of the work that they could give me my diploma early. It was kind of cool, because now I don't have to go to school, but I'm going to end up home alone a lot now when Pepper and Dad are at work, and I'll have to wait until school is over to see Brandon because he hadn't finished yet. And, because I am only fourteen I can't drive, so I'm stuck at home unless I call a taxi or I can get Happy to drive me around. "I don't know, I haven't gotten any college letters back yet, so I don't really have anything to do, I'll just work on the McLaren I guess."

"You're making MIT, Moon, there's no way they can't accept you," Dad said cockily.

"Yeah, I know, but I won't believe it until I see the letter." I replied. I knew that I put in all of the work to go to MIT, and I damned well knew that we could afford it if I wasn't awarded a scholarship, but I needed the letter to know that it is real. I need it to know that I actually did everything right.

"I was thinking we could have you do an internship at Stark Industries. It would keep you busy until you go off to college." Pepper offered.

Dad said so while I was in the hospital. I guess it would be a good thing to learn how the business works at some point. "What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"I was thinking something in the Inventions Division. You wouldn't be doing any of the inventing, which I know you would love, but you'd be working with some of our employees and helping them with their inventions," Pepper explained.

I was about to say yes, when Dad spoke, "Actually I wanted to ask something, before you say yes, Moon."

He was looking extremely deep in thought, and almost seemed to be fighting with himself. 'Maybe he is finally going to tell me what's been bugging him,' I thought to myself.

"Ever since you got hurt in the labs I wanted to ask you something. I know that the way you got your abilities is very traumatizing for you, I understand that completely, but I can't stand knowing that you can be hurt easily," he explained quickly.

I nodded, feeling like I knew where this conversation is going.

"I know that because you have grown, those titanium rods are probably a lot smaller in you than they were before. So I'm just going to come out and say it. I wanted to know if I could update your suit. Put the gold-titanium alloy in there instead of plain titanium, and add thrusters and stabilizers in your hands and feet so you don't have to waste your energy flying. It will help protect you better than what you have now. I won't turn into him, Moon, I just can't stand knowing that you aren't as safe as you could be." Dad explained carefully.

My breath had hitched in my throat, and I had to do the breathing exercises nurses had taught me to calm myself down. I had to repeat to myself over and over that there is no way that my dad would turn into Thompson. That he only wanted to do this to protect me, and not to hurt me.

Once I had sufficiently calmed myself down, more or less, my hands were still shaking, I looked at my dad. "Can I think about it for a while?" I asked, feeling as though there was an elephant sitting on my chest.

Dad looked at me and nodded. "Yeah, of course. This is all up to you, I just want you to know my reasons. I'm not going to get any kind of sick love for it. I just want you to be safe, and I think that you're due for an upgrade." He explained, rubbing my back.

I cringed when he touched me. I didn't really mean to, but I did. He drew his hand back immediately and I sighed, burying my head in my hands. "I think I need to go for a walk." I said and got up and walked outside.

But I didn't go for a walk, instead, I let my armor form around me and flew away, feeling stubborn tears fall down my cheeks.

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**Duh Duh Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.**

**Is Tony turning into Thompson? Does he want to use Luna as his experiment? We shall find out in due time!**

**Yeah so I made Luna graduate early because it will just be easier for me to have her out of school so we can focus on Iron Man things. Plus I'm not currently in school so I'm not making her. **

**Alright, so because I don't know exactly when I will finish this story I can't tell you when the next update will be. I'm sorry. But it is good to be back. Until next time!**


	2. Does the Armor Make the Person?

**Hey all, thank you for your continued support of this story, as always. **

**So, after thought I realized what I did a week ago was wrong, so I hope this makes up for it. I may fix up what I did a little bit and add to it and make it a one shot or something. I am proud to announce that I am almost done with the pre-writing though, so soon we will have regular updates, more or less. Here we will learn Tony's true intentions with the armor, I hope you all find this is a good explanation of why Tony wanted to update her armor.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my lovely OC, Luna Stark.**

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Tony's POV

"Well that went worse than I thought it was going to go…" I said sadly. I hadn't meant to bring Luna's memories to the surface, and I certainly hadn't meant to make her think that I wanted to do the same thing as Greg had done. Now that I know I'm… dying… I want to make sure that Luna will be well protected if I can't find a suitable replacement for the palladium.

"You think? Why would you do that, Tony? You know how her armor makes her feel," Pepper stated. She wasn't exactly angry. She is more confused. I wanted to tell Pepper of what was happening to me, and I had even tried a few times, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I still have time anyway, there's no need to potentially upset her if I can fix it.

"I just- I just need to be able to protect her. I know she won't give up the superhero act, so there's no point in asking, but at least with this she'll be better protected and she won't get hurt as often." I tried to explain. I wanted Pepper to understand. I didn't have any sick or twisted thoughts of using Luna as my guinea pig, I just need to protect her.

Pepper looked at me sadly. "I'm not sure if she can handle it, Tony. I know your intentions are good, but I think you screwed up here."

I nodded, running my hands over my face and hair. "I'm not good at the whole 'parenting' thing, Potts. I haven't had a lot of practice with it." I admitted. It isn't often that I admit I am doing something wrong, and I can definitely tell by the shocked look on Pepper's face.

She nodded, and looked at the clock. "Is it nine already? I need to head home, Mr. Stark. I have a big day of planning the Stark Expo tomorrow."

She looked tired and stressed and I felt bad, but I know that the only one who could handle that task was her. "I'll help you out with that one tomorrow, Potts. How does that sound?" I asked, though admittedly I would probably be more of a hindrance than a help.

"No, no don't worry about it Mr. Stark. Enjoy your first day of Luna being back from the hospital." She said with a smile.

I smiled at Pepper. She is always looking out for me. At least now I will have one more day with Luna…

Luna's POV

I had gone to bed uneasily. I know that Dad has no intention of hurting me, but when he suggests doing the thing that had hurt you a lot in your past, it makes you think twice. I decided to sleep because I felt heavily exhausted from the events of today.

I woke up from a nightmare. I can't remember what it was, but it must have been bad because I couldn't breathe for about ten minutes after I woke up.

The clock read two a.m. and I sighed. I won't be able to go back to sleep now… after some consideration I decided to work on my car. I slipped on a pair of shoes and a sweatshirt so I could stand the chill of the lab. Somehow it was always chilly in the lab, not that I could feel the cold, but I felt more cozy in a sweatshirt. I made it to the kitchen, and was about to get something from the fridge before going to the lab, when I heard a strangled yell come from one of the hallways. I knew from experience that Dad's room was down that hallway. I hadn't actually seen his room before, but I knew that that's where his room is.

I instantly felt a stab of fear. What could make him yell like that? I ran to his room as quickly as I could, forming my armor around me as I ran. I tore open his door, ready to fight anyone who may be in there. To my surprise, he was laying in his bed. I let my armor retract into my body and looked at him in confusion. Is he having a nightmare?

"Can you turn on the lights, JARVIS? But have them dimmed." I asked.

"As you wish," JARVIS replied.

I asked for the lights to be dimmed because the only thing that was worse than waking up from a nightmare was being blinded while you woke up from a nightmare.

I slowly climbed onto his bed, as it was huge and he was in the dead center of it, so there was no way I could wake him up from the edge. "Dad, Dad come on, wake up." I said gently, shaking him by the shoulder.

He shot up into a sitting position, breathing heavily. I flinched, but I didn't jump. He looked around wildly, and when he saw me he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, his words slurred. I was amused, Dad was always pretty alert, I'd never seen him when he was sleepy.

I rolled my eyes. "I woke up and I heard you yelling, so I woke you up."

He nodded and swallowed hard. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, because that was what he asked me the first time he woke me up from a nightmare.

He shook his head. I had been expecting it, so I sat back against his headboard while he started to even his breathing.

"Well, I'm staying up. Do you want any pizza? I'm having some," I said and pushed myself off of his bed. I heard him follow, I smiled. I walked into the kitchen and made two plates of pizza, I knew dad would want some. He's always hungry.

He was sitting at the bar watching me with a bemused smile on his face. I scowled. "What?" I asked. Even if he is my dad I still don't like to be analyzed.

He laughed and I scowled harder. "Last time you were home I was the one waking you up from nightmares," He explained with a laugh.

I smiled sadly at him, handing him his pizza. I looked at him, feeling nervous. Finally, I forced myself to speak. "So, I've been thinking about what you said earlier," I said cautiously. This needed to be addressed, it will only get worse if I let this stir for long.

Dad looked up at me, looking utterly serious.

I had actually thought long and hard about what he was offering last night, and I decided that although I was scared it was probably my best option. One, it showed that he truly cared about me, two an armor upgrade is actually sorely needed for me, and three if I accepted his offer it would show that I really trust him, which I do. "And I decided that I'll do it," I said, swallowing the hard lump in my throat.

Dad's eyes lit up, and he looked as if I had told him that one of his Iron Man inventions had a breakthrough or something. "Really, sweetie that's awesome!" he exclaimed, walking around the bar to sweep me in a tight hug. I leaned my head on his chest. I felt really safe, even if I was scared.

It's weird. A few months ago I had nothing close to resembling a parent, and now I have a dad. And he loves me. And he would do anything to protect me. And somehow that felt strange to me, it put a strange feeling in my heart. "I love you Dad." I said, snuggling farther into his chest. And I meant it.

A month went by of Dad studying how my armor formed around me, and how it retracted, MRIs and X-Rays too. Another two months went by of the same thing. It was kind of exhausting, but I endured. Apparently it is impossible for me to eject the titanium rods with my telekinesis. I had already kind of figured that out, but I had never tried. Once I got used to the idea of the rods I learned that they were really useful. I may not have liked the way I got my armor, now I live by it. If it weren't for my armor I would have been dead ten times over by now.

"How do you feel about surgery on Friday?" Dad asked.

I felt shocked. I hadn't expected him to spring this on me so suddenly. It is Saturday, so I will have less than a week to get ready. "Uh, I guess. Are you sure that you're ready?" I asked nervously. I knew that dad wouldn't do anything dangerous to me, but I needed the self assurance. I wasn't sure if I was ready.

"No, I figured it out. The rods are imbedded in your bones, and there are pieces that are kind of bolted down, which is why it hurt you to try and get them completely out of your body. I found out a way to get them out and a way to get the new ones in, in a safer way. I have it all figured out, don't worry." He explained gently.

But I did worry. In fact, I worried a lot. I was so stressed I barely slept at all, but I did work on the McLaren. It became a way that I could relieve my stress, which I desperately needed. I think that Dad understands, because when he comes into the lab in the mornings to find me already awake and working all he would say is 'Long night?', to which I nod and continue working.

For the surgery I learned that it wouldn't take place in a hospital, and that he would be doing it in the lab. I also learned that he would be having a friend of his coming to help him out with it.

On Friday morning I was nervous. Caleb, Dad's friend, will arrive later in the day to help us. When he finally did I was surprised. I had expected an old guy, but Caleb was at least as young as dad, and looked very polite. He looked like he should be teaching classes at college rather than be a doctor.

"Hello Doctor, thank you for coming." I said politely when he came down to the lab. I leapt up and shook his hand.

"You must be Luna. Call me Caleb." He said respectfully.

I noted that he had a firm handshake, which I liked. A firm handshake means that he is a good man, or that is what everyone says, at least. I smiled at him nervously. I was already changed into my surgery clothes, and dad already had the table set up and the machines that I need. All we need is him now. I am pretty sure that my heart is going to explode out of my chest, in fact the only thing that is keeping me here is the fact that I haven't eaten and there is no way I can fly safely on an empty stomach. Otherwise I would have panic flown my way out of here already.

"Where's your father?" Caleb asked, looking around the lab for him.

I shook my head, "No clue, he's probably putting the finishing touches on the rods. I trust he already told you everything you need to know," I replied, trying to distract myself with the conversation.

Caleb nodded, "It should be an easy procedure. There are very minimal risks for this to go wrong. Between your dad and I there are very few possibilities of any complications." Caleb told me with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, so he has said, I just want to get it over with." I replied easily, though on the inside my stomach was in knots. I knew that I should be able to trust them, it's just that it is more than them. This is something that has haunted me for years, and facing this fear head on isn't easy.

"And it's time to start that!" called a voice from the door.

Dad strolled in holding a box that probably held my gold-titanium alloy rods. I felt a stab of fear and I momentarily felt like running away, but I calmly smiled at my father instead. I followed him to the table and lay down. He immediately put a heart rate monitor on my finger, and put an IV in my arm. Caleb was about to strap my arms and legs down when I flinched, "Can that wait until after I'm under?" I wasn't asking Caleb, I was asking dad. I knew that if my arms were strapped down that I would have a panic attack, and possibly attack them. No, I wouldn't be able to handle being strapped down, it would be too much. Dad, who saw the fear in my eyes, nodded immediately.

After a few more moments the mask was out over my face, and before I knew it, I was unconscious.

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**I am certain that I will be finished with this story within about two weeks. I still have a lot of work for school to do though, so I may not be able to update as often as I want, I hope you all understand. I will preface you all with this, Luna's story will not always be a happy one. After this chapter we will dive straight into the Iron Man 2 story line. We all know how Tony acted throughout that story, so I hope we are prepared for what Luna will be going through. With that being said, Until next time!**


	3. The Expo

**Hey all, as always I would like to thank you all for the continued support of this story.**

**So, I'm back in school *****_groans*_**** but so far I do like my teachers, most of them at least, actually my two AP teachers are the ones I probably like the best. Have you ever had a teacher that makes fun of everyone in the class, but in a joking way that just makes you love them? That is my English teacher. I bore the brunt of her teasing today because my mother bought me one of those military grade cases for my iPad because she claims that I "drop things". She says by the end of the year we're going to drop it out of the window to see if it works. Anyway, now that I'm back in school chapters may get a little iffy with publishing, but if I won't be able to post a chapter because of school work I will try my best to let you all know. I am ****_almost_**** done with this story, so we will get regular updates soon, I promise, it's just that I've been having troubles with writers block and school work and all of that other annoying stuff that comes with being a high school student. But I will try my best not to make excuses and keep regular updates. **

**Disclaimer: I only own the lovely Luna Stark. Absolutely nothing else. I OWN NOTHING**

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Pepper and I stood outside of the bathroom. Pepper was extremely annoyed, but I was amused. Seeing dad puking over a toilet because he was drunk was really funny to me.

"I'm serious, give me a little space. I can't-"

"Get up." Pepper said disgust full in her voice. I leaned back out of the bathroom, partly because I knew that Pepper would be mad if she saw me laughing and partly because it smelled bad in the bathroom.

"Oh god, I can't go through with it. I'm telling you," He said, seeming weak.

"We don't have time for this, we have to go," Pepper urged.

"Oh god you don't want to see that," Dad said with a groan. I could hear him getting up; I forced myself to get a composed and annoyed expression. No need to be on Pepper's bad side for laughing while she is upset, especially when it concerns Dad acting irresponsibly, which is happening more often as of late.

"How am I? Do I look weird?" he asked.

"You look like you do every day. You look like you have a hangover." Pepper shot back. I could tell that she was thoroughly annoyed now.

"Miss me with the shame for it will you?" he asked, breathing heavily, "I literally almost died, now give me some- give me some crackers. Ginger ale, anything. Give me some Advil." He pleaded as he sat down.

I frowned. To me this didn't really look like drunk-sick. This looked like sick-sick. In fact, I don't even think I saw Dad drinking today, which is an anomaly in itself. But then he always carries a flask, I probably just didn't notice him drinking today.

"I don't have Adv- I've got Motrin." Pepper said as she ruffled through her purse quickly. If Dad doesn't hurry we're going to miss the drop. That will be bad, this jet had cost a lot of money.

I sighed and stood next to Pepper and shot Dad an I'm-disappointed-in-you look to please Pepper. Well, that and I am disappointed. There is no need for him to be this drunk before something as important as what we were about to do. Doesn't he know how much weight this holds?

"Motrin? I'm telling you there's something seriously wrong with giving a grown man Motrin." Dad said, sounding very sick.

Pepper yelled to defend herself and they both yelled at each other while I rushed to my bag. "Lucky you, Dad!" I yelled. "I've got Advil," I said, holding up the bottle for him to see.

"Give it to me- oh god I am going to be sick again!" He exclaimed, lurching forward in his seat. I shook my head in disappointment. I tossed the bottle to him, "See, someone comes prepared," he said rudely to Pepper while he took at least four Advil pills.

Pepper shot me a look and I shrugged. He needed to be at at least fifty percent for this to work out alright.

"Fine," Pepper sighed, "We're nearing the drop zone, let's go!" she urged us.

I let my armor form around me. My armor retained the style of my old armor, except for the fact that it was thicker and extremely high-tech. Dad wanted to paint it for me so that it would look cooler, but I wanted to keep my suit the same. Now that I am more or less recovered from the surgery I am allowed to use the armor. So this is one of my first times actually using it outside of the short tests that Dad had me do a few times. This was the big test, it felt exhilarating. After this I'll be allowed to fly wherever I want as long as I don't have any complications, which I shouldn't.

"Let's do this." He said and walked to the opening.

"I know that I can be selfish sometimes, and I know I don't say it enough, but how's my hair?" Dad asked. Pepper and I both smirked. Pepper was holding dad to make sure he didn't accidentally fall out of the plane, and I was standing back so I could jump out after him.

"You've said that already." She replied with a smile.

"Yeah, I know, but this time I mean it." He replied seriously, "Is it piecey enough, do I need more product?

"Yeah you're looking good." She answered seriously, this time I actually snorted and dad shot me a look.

"Does it look windblown enough?" he asked me.

I nodded with a smirk on my face. This seemed to satisfy him. He turned to Pepper and said, "Okay give me a smooch for good luck, I might not make it back, this is heavy stuff." He explained, but I could see that he was joking.

Pepper smirked and grabbed his helmet from his hands, kissing the facial slit of Dad's helmet. I looked away awkwardly, wishing I had opted to jump out first.

"Go get 'em boss." I heard Pepper said.

I heard dad take a running start to the edge, "You complete me!" he exclaimed.

I smirked and turned to Pepper, "See you on the other side, Pep," I said to her, giving her a hug before I leapt out of the plane after my father.

I smiled widely as I flew through the air. Dad was about twenty feet below me, and just got hit in the face by one of the many fireworks. I laughed loudly, and I could hear him grunt through the link that our helmets had. I felt free, I gave a loud whoop, and did a flip in mid air before following my father's flight down.

The Expo had a lot of planning that went into it, so I knew that it was essential for my father to jump out of the jet, especially because he made such a big deal out of getting the thing in the first place. All I know is that I had to be careful of how I protected my identity because of the sheer amount of people here. One little screw up and I could be out of a secret identity and be left only with an identity. Dad landed on the stage, but I pulled up at the last second, flying over the Expo. Dad told me to meet him at the car if I couldn't find him, but once I find somewhere to retract my suit I should be able to make my way back to the stage easily.

I found a bathroom quickly, and went into a stall when I was sure it was deserted and let my armor retract into my body. I winced. Because the pieces of armor were bigger than they used to be it hurt more to let them in and out of my body. I got out of my stall quickly and checked my hair and practically everything. I was wearing a short blue-green dress and had my hair curled softly. I had a ton of makeup on to cover all of my scars too. Luckily I was able to get rid of any of the stitches I still had before the Expo. Somehow Dad and Caleb managed to get the majority of the rods in without flaying me. I didn't ask how they did it because I didn't really want to know.

I rushed to find Dad and Happy walking away from the stage, preparing to walk through all of the people to get to the Audi. Dad threw his jacket to Happy and I rushed to be by his side. "You made it!" Dad exclaimed happily. "You ready?" he asked. I nodded, preparing myself for all of the people and noise.

We walked out. Happy was busy making sure people didn't overwhelm us, pushing people aside. Dad stopped a few times to sign pictures of Iron Man while I stood back smiling. The old Tony probably wouldn't have stopped. Happy pressured us to keep moving, so we walked down the stairs.

"Hey, Larry King!" Dad exclaimed as we walked past an old man in a red shirt.

"Daaad!" I interjected, "That isn't Larry King that is Sta-"

"That was Larry, Moon." Dad interrupted and I glowered at him.

"Well that wasn't so bad." Happy commented as we walked towards the car.

"It was perfect." Dad agreed. I nodded, but stared at the woman that was standing near car with distaste. If she thinks she's getting in that car she has another thing coming.

"Look what we've got here, the new model." Happy said, unlocking the car. The car was beautiful, but I was still distracted by the woman, and apparently, so was Dad, but in a different way.

"Does she come with the car?" Dad asked, and I hoped to god he was joking. To my surprise he grinned down at me.

"I certainly hope so." Happy replied. This time I cleared my throat and glared at him and he actually took a step back.

"Hi," Dad said, greeting the woman warmly.

"HI," She replied, walking towards us.

"Hi," I said, giving dad a pointed look.

"And you are?" He asked.

"Marshal," she answered, shaking dad's hand, and then shaking mine once I approached her. Well, at least she respects me enough to shake _my_ hand. Maybe she isn't just trying to get into dad's pants.

"Irish," Dad commented. "I like it."

"Thanks Tony," She replied with a sly grin. I glared at her, deciding that maybe she didn't have _that _much respect for me.

"I'm on the wheel," Dad exclaimed, and I took the passenger side, getting in immediately so she couldn't.

"Do you mind?" Dad asked Happy, who was trying to get into the driver's seat, "Where are you from?" He asked, directing his question to Marshal.

"Bedford," The girl answered immediately.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. Happy stood by the passenger door, and will probably wait there until we drive off and then follow us in a car behind.

"Looking for you." She answered, still smiling slyly at him.

Dad looked at me, as I shot him a disapproving look, and then back at her, "Yeah? You found me," He said busily, getting in the car with me. I grinned. No way she's getting in now.

"What are you doing later?" Dad asked. I turned to glare at him. If anything I was the only reason he was somewhat behaving lately. He wasn't exactly a good man when I met him, but lately he's been on this downward spiral, and I don't like it.

"Serving subpoenas."

I cringed. What could Dad have possibly done to get this? Yeah Dad hasn't exactly been a model citizen as of late, but he couldn't have done something bad enough to deserve this.

Dad lost the little smirk on his face. "Yikes."

The woman held the white envelope that she had been holding since I first saw her. The subpoena, probably. I guess she expected dad to take it, but he made no move to grab it. I sighed, and grabbed the envelope, giving an irritated grunt, and then tossed it on his lap.

"He doesn't like to be handed things." Happy explained from beside me. I turned and gave him a look that said 'don't encourage him'.

"Yeah, I have a peeve." Dad clarified.

"You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m."

Shit. I thought after this we would be taking the jet home. I had already told Brandon we could go out and do something together because it was a Saturday and we hadn't seen each other in so long. I just want to be home!

"Can I see a badge?" Dad asked. I rolled my eyes. After one fake cop Dad now assumes everybody is a fake. On second thought that probably isn't a bad thing, but it is still annoying for him to ask everyone for their badge.

"You wanna see the badge?" The woman asked incredulously.

"He likes badges," I told her sarcastically.

The woman smirked at both of us as she pulled out a badge from her skirt to show him. "Sill like it?" She asked, sounding smug.

"Yep."

She slid the badge back into her skirt, backing away from the Audi.

Dad turned to me, "How far away is Washington?"

I rolled my eyes, "About two hundred and fifty miles."

Dad revved the engine and sped away before I could even say goodbye to Happy. I settled back into the car, preparing myself for the long drive. Sure I could have gone with Happy and Pepper, or even flown in the jet, but because I got in the car I had to make sure that Dad didn't do anything dumb on his way to Washington. Also, because I am in the car he was driving slower than he normally would, which was still pretty fast. I sighed. I didn't really want to be in a car for however many hours it was going to take us to get to Washington.

"Did you get to hear any of my speech?" Dad questioned as we sped onto the highway.

"No, I had trouble finding an empty bathroom," I replied, feeling guilty that I didn't get to hear his big speech.

"Well, the majority of the speech was about you, and when I said 'from the ashes of captivity never has a phoenix metaphor been more personified'. I got the idea from you. But, since the world doesn't know about you, I made it sound like it was me. And when I was talking about leaving a legacy, I meant a legacy for _you_." he explained. He kept driving and kept looking forward. I knew that this meant a lot to him.

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. Now I felt even guiltier that I wasn't able to hear the speech.

"Don't worry," Dad said with a laugh, "you can't help that, now sleep. That was the first time you really used your suit. You should rest."

I didn't protest because I actually was pretty tired. Soon I had fallen asleep.

It was dusk when I was awoken by a light shake on the shoulder. "We're at a hotel," Dad said softly, "I figured we can shower and get something to eat before the hearing," He explained.

I groaned, pushing myself off of the car seat and stumbled into the hotel behind my father. I didn't even bother looking at the hotel name. By now I knew that we were always in an expensive hotel, even if we would only be here for a few hours.

Dad stopped at the room that must have been mine, and handed me the key to let me in. I went in and collapsed on the bed for a few moments before deciding that it was probably smart to shower. My face was probably already breaking out from my makeup and I cringed knowing that my hair had had hairspray in it all night.

I got in the shower, and took the hottest shower I could bare, taking more time than I needed. I was still sore from sleeping in the car, and the hot water helped with my tense muscles. After I was done I wrapped myself in the fluffy towel and found that someone, probably Pepper, had left a pair of my favorite jeans, and a sweater on the bed for me. I went back into the bathroom to change and came out to find Dad sitting at the small coffee table with mountains of food.

I grinned, "You didn't."

He laughed as I practically ran to the table and poured a large portion of pancakes, eggs, and bacon on my plate. I didn't really realize that I was hungry until I saw the food and remembered that I hadn't exactly eaten since three in the afternoon yesterday.

"After this we're going home," Dad promised.

I stopped eating for a second to look up at him. He was working on his own pancakes, but he was staring at me.

"Good," I replied with a grin, "Because Brandon and I are going to the movies."

He practically choked on his orange juice. I couldn't help but laugh. "So, is that like- is it a date?" he asked me.

I wanted to laugh again and play with his head. He looked like he truly didn't know what to do. "No, Dad. We're just friends. And, because he is one of my _only_ friends at this school he decided to invite me to see a movie with him Jaime, and a few of his friends."

Dad visibly relaxed at the mention of me not just being with him alone, which I figured it would, I just wanted to push his buttons a little first. "Okay- yeah- good. It's good that you are hanging out with people your age." He said, though his voice sounded semi strained.

I wanted to say that technically they are older than me, but I knew it wasn't helping me, so I stayed quiet. We ate in silence, and soon Pepper was in the room, telling us that it was time to go.

We were walking to the car when I grabbed my father's arm and forced him to stop, "Wait," I commanded.

"What?" He asked, stopping and giving me his full attention.

"Just-just please don't… just please don't go in there and, I dunno. Be you." I pleaded awkwardly.

He seemed slightly taken aback. "Be me, what do you mean, be me?"

"You know what I mean, Dad. Don't go in there and be a bigheaded, pompous, egotistical child," I told him pointedly. Sure I was being a little harsh, but I am afraid of the outcome of this hearing. If he screws up the Iron Man suits get taken away, and I don't want to think about what the idiots will use the suit for.

"Don't worry, I know how this is going to play out. They are going to tell me they want the suit and I am going to tell them no. No big deal." Dad told with a grin.

But I sighed. Nothing is that easy with Dad.

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**How did we like the beginning? I personally liked the alternate beginning better than the one in the movie, so I decided to use that. Next chapter will be longer I promise. **

**Please review! It helps motivate me with writing this story and I absolutely love reviews! They make my day. **

**Special thanks to musicmixer08 and StylingsoftheHaitus, who constantly review my stories, I love you guys, you always make my day!**

**Until next time!**


	4. Stern is Stern

**A/N Hello everybody, I would like to thank all of you for your continued support of this story, even through my choppy updates. **

**I'm almost through with the writing process. Eeesh I know that I'm kind of getting bad with that... I apologize. But, I expect to be done shortly, so I wanted to ask if for the next installment of this story if we wanted to have written parts of Luna right after the surgery, a secondary story, purely for Luna set before the Avengers, or do we want to dive straight into the Avengers? We aren't anywhere near finished with this story, so don't worry, I just wanted to get some opinions on things so I can start writing things a little bit ahead of time so we won't be stuck like this, waiting for me to finish a story. Please send a review leaving your preference!**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing except for my lovely OC, Luna Stark.**

By the time we got to the courthouse I groaned. The thought of sitting in a chair for a long period of time wasn't appealing to me. Because of the surgery I was sore in general all the time. It had happened when I was younger, and I had almost completely forgotten about it until about a month ago. Basically it was taking a little longer than I had remembered for the ache in my bones to go away. The best way to describe it is how when you get your braces tightened and your teeth hurt a lot afterwards. Basically it is that type of pain, but multiply it by eight and spread it throughout your entire body.

For the majority of the beginning of the hearing I was in sitting in the bench trying to keep myself from crying out in pain. For the most part the pain had gone away, but apparently because I had used my armor for longer than I had ever done before yesterday the pain was back and at full strength. Pepper had taken pity on me and handed me her bottle of Motrin from her purse along with a bottle of water. I took more than the suggested amount of pills and swallowed a big gulp of water. I then sighed, slumping against Pepper, who seemed more than okay with me leaning against her for support.

It was about twenty minutes later when I noticed the pills taking effect. The excruciating pain had turned into a dull ache and I managed to sit upright. That's when I noticed that my father was completely ignoring the hearing and was turned around, looking at me. He looked concerned.

"Dad. Turn around!" I hissed at him.

He didn't turn around. "Mr. Stark! Can we please pick up where we left off?" Asked the man who had a name plate in front of him that said 'Senator Stern'.

Dad whipped around in his chair, "Yes dear?"

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. The crowd laughed, but I knew Dad isn't getting himself in a good spot. Why can't he just swallow his pride and kiss an ass for once? "Has he been doing this the whole time?" I whispered to Pepper.

Pepper, who looked a startling combination of mortified and enraged, merely nodded her head, her lips pursed tightly.

I wanted to murder him. He promised me that he wouldn't act like this. Is there any point in asking him anymore? He just does what he wants anyway.

"Can I have your attention?" Stern asked, he sounded extremely irritated, which even I found understandable. It doesn't mean that I like him though.

Dad leaned towards the small microphone on his table. "Absolutely."

"Do you, or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" Stern asked, almost lazily.

"I do not."

"You do not?"

"I do not- well it depends on how you define the term 'weapon'." Dad replied. I knew immediately that he already had what he was going to say more or less planned out. Fuck it, Dad, you better not screw this up.

Stern leaned back in his chair with a smirk stretched on his unpleasant face. Is he enjoying this? "The Iron Man weapon," He clarified.

"My device does not fit that description."

"Well, how would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator." Dad replied quickly. He is getting aggravated now. This won't be good.

"As?"

"As… it's a high tech prosthesis" Dad explained. The crowd chuckled. "That is actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark." Stern replied, sounding quite annoyed.

"Please, if your priority was actually the well being of the American citizen-"

"My priority," Stern said, effectively cutting off my father, "Is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

I wanted to scoff. Dad built this thing. He owns it, they can't make him hand it over. I will fight for it just as much as Dad will.

"You can't have it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the suit would be to turn over myself which is a tantamount to indentured servitude, or prostitution, depending on which state you're in." Goddammit, Dad. That first bit was okay. The rest just shows you're being childish.

"Look, I'm no expert-"

"In prostitution? Of course not, you're a Senator, come on." He spun around, giving the crowd a peace sign. He caught my eye and I shook my head vehemently, trying to make him tone it down. He lingered for a moment before turning around.

"I'm no expert in weapons." The Senator corrected. He took that comment better than I would have. "We have someone here who is an expert in weapons. I would now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.

Dad and I both had similar reactions to Justin's name. We were both surprised. Justin seemed to have appeared out of thin air. He went to the table that Dad sat at, standing at the end of it. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Tool bag. He wore a grey suit and nerd glasses that he probably didn't even need to use to see. He definitely looked the part of an 'expert'.

Of course this wasn't the case in the slightest. I hadn't met him, but I've seen his daughter, and I've seen his weapon designs in the lab. Sub-par. Nothing that could compete with Stark Industries.

"Let the record show that I observed Mr. Hammer enter the room and I am also wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance."

I laughed. I actually laughed. There was no way that I could get angry at him for that one. Dad turned and grinned at me. Hammer, on the other hand, shrugged it off and sat down.

"Absolutely. I am no expert. I defer to you, Anthony," He said, grinning at my father, "You're the wonder boy."

I glared at him. This man is bad news. He's so jealous of Dad that he would be willing to do anything to screw him over and get his precious spotlight. Jealous prick. Even from a public view it was obvious that he was jealous of Dad, even before I met him. Even though I had never seen his products in person I knew that they just couldn't compete with Dad's, and now that I get to see them up close it is blatantly obvious. And, instead of doing honest work to improve his company he's going to say anything that will put Dad under. Pathetic, jealous moron.

"Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert?" Hammer asked, standing from his chair, grabbing his microphone as he did so. "Your dad. Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military industrial age. Let's just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we are here, in the last six months Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him and we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada."

At this I glared at him. Canada may be safer than the U.S., but it really wasn't that much different. I spent a year in Canada while I was on the run, and it was still plenty dangerous there. Canada just brought up bad memories. If I could have "suited up" and ejected him from the room I would.

"You know we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America."

A few people in the room clapped, and Senator Stern did as well, but the majority of the room remained quiet. It seems that Dad has won the people. Almost none of these people are here to incriminate him, they are here to support. I turned to look at Pepper, feeling relief and glee fill my body.

I looked at my father, and noticed that he didn't have this same realization. Although no one would really be able to catch it, he seemed tense.

"That is well said, Mr. Hammer," Stern commented as Hammer took his seat. "The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

Pepper and I both turned to each other, and she had the same amount of shock on her face that I felt. Why is Rhodey here? I had only met him a few times, but I knew he was a good friend of my father. He had also visited me in the hospital a few times, and seemed like he was a great friend to Dad, so why is he hear now? Certainly not to be against him. Right?

Apparently Dad was just as confused as we were, because Dad turned in his chair, looking extremely confused.

Photographers started snapping pictures and everyone turned in their seats to look at the man entering the chamber. Sure enough it was Rhodey. He was dressed in his uniform and looked like he was trying to keep his face neutral. I looked back to see Dad walking towards Rhodey, and just behind him I saw Stern sitting back, watching smugly. Shit. Not good. Dad and Rhodey exchanged a few words before they sat down.

"I have before me a completed report on the Iron Man weapon," The Senator said. "Compiled by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page fifty seven, paragraph four?"

What? This time I didn't need to look to Pepper for reassurance. I didn't know that he had written a report on Iron Man, and I knew for a fact that Dad didn't know either. They would have talked about it, or rather Pepper would have talked about it and Dad would have verbally abused it. Even so, Rhodey couldn't have written anything that could hurt Dad's reputation as Iron Man, right? Last I heard he wholeheartedly approved it.

"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report Senator?" Rhodey asked.

"Yes sir."

Rhodey glanced at Dad quickly before he replied to Stern, "It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

I knew that Dad must be extremely angry right now. I would be. His best friend is about to testify against him in court. Which could very well mean that his suits could be taken away.

"I understand," Stern said, a small smile playing on his lips. 'A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read-"

"You understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final-"

"Just read it Colonel. I do, thank you." Stern said sharply.

Sneaky conniving bastard. If I am guessing correctly, which I think I am, Rhodey wasn't here to testify against Dad. His report was probably positive about Dad being Iron Man. And, as it often happens, there is probably a negative paragraph in that report. And Stern is using that one paragraph to make it seem like a military official disproves of Dad. Sneaky conniving insidious prick.

I glared at Stern, but listened to Rhodey carefully. I heard him clear his throat, which seemed to echo in the deathly quiet room. "Very well. As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and her interests. I do, however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities." Rhodey explained quickly, as if he was trying to redeem himself, and I knew at that moment that he was still on our side. "And that it would be in our interest-"

"That's enough Colonel."

"-to fold Mr. Stark-"

"That's enough!"

"-into the existing chain of command Senator." Rhodey finished.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dad move towards the microphone and I almost wanted to groan. "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense if you ask nicely. We can amend the hours a bit." Dad quipped. People laughed, but Pepper and I remained silent. I am sure she is doing exactly what I am doing, which is shooting daggers at the back of his head.

"I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that connected to your report," Stern plowed on.

I wanted to march up to the man and smack him. He is deliberately using parts of Rhodey's report against Dad, when his report wasn't even negative towards dad. How dare he?

I turned my full attention to Rhodey as he spoke quickly, "I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the public at this time,"

Of course Stern spoke over Rhodey but I was immediately interested in this. What could the government have pictures of that they don't want us to see? Well they could have a lot I suppose, but what could they have regarding the suit that they are afraid of showing us? Stern wouldn't show us anything that could damage the government's reputation and not Dad's.

"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful." Wow. He is really being unreasonable. I pray to god that someone notices how hesitant Rhodey is, unwilling even, and know that Stern is trying his hardest to be punitive towards my father, and not fair or just, like he is supposed to.

We all turned to the monitors, and although the picture wasn't clear, I was sure that what was being shown was a bird's eye view of an attempt of a suit. No wonder why no one had tried to steal his suit. They'd been creating their own.

No wonder why Dad had been edgy. He had probably been monitoring this kind of behavior, and probably even saw it before the government had. And although I was upset he hadn't confided in me I understood. I had been in and out of surgery and hospitals, and this kind of information could have made recovery hard. Of course I wasn't really in such bad condition where it that type of information could have hurt me, but Dad tried to keep all potentially upsetting information away from me while I was recovering.

I looked to Dad to see how he was handling this information, and to my surprise, he was on his phone. I wanted to yell at him. Of all times _not_ to pay attention this was probably the worst. It may be better for him to seem unconcerned, or worse. It depends on how people look at it. On the one hand people may look at it as him thinking it wasn't much of a threat because he could handle it. On the other side it looks just as it is. Dad is being childish and isn't slightly worried about something that is a very conceivable threat. Bad, bad, bad. What has happened to him to make him so detached?

"This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground, indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational."

How did these people even manage to create operational suits? Dad has all of the blue prints and everything that anyone would need to make the suits either hidden away or destroyed. And I know for a fact that our security system is top notch. It isn't unbreakable, nothing is, but no government official, American or otherwise, had the time, tools, or patience to do it. I know because I've tried. Call it a hunch, but I know that Dad is hiding something from me. And all of the equipment at the mansion is as good as, or better than the stuff that the government has.

"Hold on one sec, buddy," Dad interrupted, leaning across the table, pointing his phone, which is nothing more than a piece of glass, or at least that's what it looks like, at the TV, "Let me see something here."

The TV went black and then numbers and letters appeared on the screen, along with a box that held the words "Welcome Mr. Stark." I wanted to laugh. Always up to his tricks.

The people around me whispered, but Dad seemed satisfied, "Boy I'm good. I've commandeered your screens." He turned and did the same thing to screen on the other side of the room. "I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now let's see what's really going on."

Pepper and I frowned at each other. What could he possibly do to fix what they just did that Dad taking the screens could fix?

"What is he doing?" Stern asked nervously, looking around.

Suddenly there was video footage playing on the screen. It was in black and white with… Korean symbols on the screen? People gasped at what was clearly visible on the screen. A large robot. As the crude robot tried to walk. As it fell, the gun attached to the robot began firing. There was screaming, something that looked suspiciously like blood slashed across the screen.

"Can you turn that off? Turn it off. Take it off." Stern ordered nervously from his seat.

Hammer, the obedient little puppy he is, leapt up to the TV, trying to find a switch that would turn it off.

"Iran," Dad continued.

The video cut and changed. This time an even more poorly constructed suit was attempting to fly. Hammer was blocking the screen, attempting to turn the TV off. Even so, the sound of the suit crashing was clearly audible to everyone, as was the explosion that occurred when the suit hit the ground.

The video changed again. "No grave immediate threat here," Dad announced, "Is that Justin Hammer?"

The video indeed showed Justin Hammer, who was standing in front of a suit. His attempt at making a suit looked well done compared to the others.

"How did Hammer get in the game?"

Hammer shoved someone who was trying to help him turn the TV off, desperately looking for the plug of the TV. On the screen, however, he was commanding the robot to lift its leg.

"Justin, you're on TV. Focus up."

The committee members were all whispering together and I bit my lip to force myself not to laugh. Hammer was trying to force Dad to give up his suit when he was trying to create one himself. I guess he couldn't put himself through all of the trouble. Dad looked back at me again and grinned before turning back in his seat. I shook my head and sighed.

I looked back at the screen just in time to see Hammer telling the robot to twist to the left. Unfortunately enough for the person inside, it did turn, but too far. Sparks flew, and the robot turned far too far. The Hammer in the video gasped yelling "Oh shit! Oh shit!" as the robot sparked and died.

The screen went black, Justin stood next to the TV. He had found the plug and pulled it, but the damage was already done. His face, beet red.

Dad spoke up against the quiet room, "Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away, Hammer Industries, twenty."

This time I couldn't help it. I had to cover my mouth to keep my laughter from being heard, and a glance showed that Pepper also had a single hand covering her mouth.

Hammer quickly grabbed the microphone from the table, "I would like to point out that that test pilot survived."

Yes with severe injuries at least, douche.

"I think we're done is the point he's making," Stern said, standing now. I hadn't noticed him stand, "I-I don't think there's any reason-"

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess," Dad interrupted.

"For what?"

"Because," He replied, "I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working, America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it, but I did do you a big favor," He exclaimed, standing from his seat to turn and face us, "I have successfully privatized world peace."

Dad gave us the peace sign, and I was vaguely aware that the rest of the people were standing, giving him a standing ovation.

"What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass clowns," He exclaimed, seeming to gain enthusiasm by the crowd. He gestured back to the committee on the words 'ass clowns'.

"Fuck you Mr. Stark," Stern called, "Fuck you buddy."

This time hands couldn't stop me, I laughed. Hard. Pepper looked at me with a smirk on her face, I shrugged in reply.

"Okay." Dad shot back, grinning.

"You've been a delight."

"We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today," Stern announced with a scowl.

Dad thumbs upped at him before blowing kisses. He walked down the aisle, talking to the cameras as he went. I didn't follow. I stayed stationary as Pepper got out of her seat, rushing after Dad, probably making sure he wouldn't say anything that would make anything worse than it already was.

The room was mostly empty now, I sighed in frustration and got out of my seat, hoping Dad was finished with the cameras by now.

"Wait!" Someone called as I was about to leave the room. It was Rhodey.

I stopped and waited for him to catch up, and I was reminded of how eerily quiet it was in here by the sound of his echoing footsteps. "I didn't want to do that you know. I go on to say how great of a benefit Iron Man is to America, and your father should be given an official position in the department of defense," He explained once he reached me.

I nodded, Rhodey wouldn't intentionally make Dad look bad. "I know Rhodey, don't worry, I'm more annoyed at Dad. He's been acting really irresponsibly lately and he's been keeping things from me."

Rhodey looked relieved, but also concerned towards the end of my sentence. "I haven't talked to him much lately, I've been so busy with work. It sounds like he's falling back into his old habits," He explained worriedly, "I'd hoped those days were in the past. As for him hiding things, he'll tell you when he's ready. Your father wouldn't keep anything from you that you need to know, and if you do need to know it, he'll tell you when the time is right."

"Falling into his old habits?" I asked, feeling worried, "He was worse at one point? How did anything get done?" I can't imagine anything worse than it already is.

"He relied heavily on a combination of people. Pepper was one of them, I just hope that it won't get as bad as it was before," Rhodey said.

I nodded, and Rhodey left, saying he had to talk to one of his officials before they left. Meanwhile, I tried to maneuver my way out of the courthouse without getting lost. It is certainly easier said than done. When I finally reached the main entrance of the lobby it is clear that Dad isn't finished with the reporters. A cloud of reporters surrounded him. I took a moment to collect myself, so I wouldn't look as frustrated or annoyed as I felt. Once I am sure that I am ready, I stepped out of the doors.

Not nearly as many reporters swarmed me, but a few flocked from Dad, shoving their microphones or recorders in my face. One reporter asked loudly, "How do you feel about the outcome of this hearing?"

I allowed myself a moment's thought before answering, "It seems as though he will be keeping the suits, which is a good thing. My father is capable of protecting America with the suits."

There were a few jumbled questions, but one stood out to me, "What about your father's accomplice, Iron Maiden, have you met her? Do you think they will try to take her armor as well?"

I fought to keep the smile off of my face. Let them try and take my armor away. "I haven't met Iron Maiden, from what I know, my father doesn't know who she is either. I think the only way they can take her armor away is if they know her identity, and if she hasn't told my father yet, I doubt that she'll tell the world." I answered, hoping my answers add up with Dad's.

There was a hand on my shoulder after I had answered a few more questions. I looked up, realizing it belonged to my father. I tried my best to keep the irritation off of my face, but some must have showed there. He worked hard to get us to the car, through the mobs of reporters. Once we were in the car it was silent.

After a few moments I realized that I was too angry to stay quiet. I turned, looking at my father. "What in the hell were you thinking?" I asked quietly. If I didn't see him cringe I would've thought that he hadn't heard me at all.

"What do you mean?" He asked back. He sounded as if someone was choking him, and I had to check twice to make sure it wasn't me. My powers were so out of control lately. Whenever I am angry I always manage to accidentally break something. I don't know what is going on with that. Maybe I'm just getting used to having the armor, and the rest of my body is suffering.

"Do you realize that if the public wasn't on your side the suits could have been taken away!" I exclaimed. I wanted to hit him, to force him to understand.

He took his eyes completely off of the road to give me an even look, "I wouldn't have let that happen. I did what I needed to do, look at what just happened, I made sure they can't take the suits!" He exclaimed, finally looking back at the road.

I am not letting him get off that easy, "No! What you did is you showed that you really don't care that much! Sure, you ensured that you got the suits, but that was after you made a joke out of the whole thing!"

"That hearing was a joke!" He argued, sounding frustrated, "I made the suits, I can damn well keep them!"

"I know that! You should have been that serious when you were talking to them! Not me! You're so frustrating sometimes," I told him irritably.

He turned shortly, "I'm sorry." I know immediately that he was only saying this to appease me.

"No you're not."

The rest of the ride to the airport was silent. I was still fuming, and I know that I hadn't really gotten to him. I'll let Pepper deal with him, she's better at this sort of thing, she's been with him longer. Maybe she can talk some sense into him.

When we finally got to the airport Dad drove straight on to the tarmac. I saw that Pepper's car was already there. I honestly felt relieved. Dad has been so infuriating lately, I'm not sure if I can stand being in the same room as him without screaming at him. At least when Pepper does it she doesn't run the risk of getting grounded. Of course she _could_ get fired, but Pepper would have to do something truly awful for Dad to even think about firing her.

I got out of the car before Dad did, slamming the car door for emphasis. I also stomped up the stairs, which admittedly was a bit of overkill, but I don't want Dad thinking he got out of this easily. Pepper was sitting in the main part of the jet. When I stomped in she cast me a questioning glance.

"_You_ need to talk to him, I can't do it right now," I told her sharply out of frustration. Not at her, obviously, I hope she doesn't take it that way. I then stomped into a separate part of the jet, behind the kitchen. It was mostly where the stewardess' stayed, but I frequently stayed in there when I was angry, so they didn't mind much.

"What happened this time?" A girl named Rhonda asked when I sat down on a couch, heaving a sigh as I did so.

"Oh, you'll see it all over the news, I'm sure. I couldn't accurately describe it if I tried anyway." I told her, annoyed.

She smirked, letting out a little laugh, "That bad, huh?"

I could only manage to nod in response. She walked away, before returning shortly with a Gatorade, the drink that I always asked for. I smiled as thanks to her, not trusting my mouth much. She left to take my father's, Pepper's, and Rhodey's drink orders.

It took me quite a while to calm down to where I trusted myself _not_ to scream at my father when I walked into the room. Before I entered I put both hands on the doorframe, taking a deep breath as I did. Then, I went in. We had taken a off a few minutes ago, and we weren't supposed to be walking around yet, but I did.

Dad looked as if he was still being unreasonable and childish, so, to show my disapproval rather than vocalize it, I sat closer to Pepper and Rhodey than I did to him. That seemed to have done it. "Tell him to apologize for ambushing me," He ordered, looking pointedly at Pepper.

Oh God damn it… "I ambushed you?" Rhodey shot back.

"Yes, yes."

"I sent you a report."

"I didn't even know-"

"The one with the bold red letters on top of it-"

"Did not."

"Saying Tony, please fact check."

"You received it." Pepper interjected.

I sighed, shaking my head. Rhodey sent the report, Dad was just being his usual self and didn't look at it, as always.

"I didn't get that!"

"It was on your desk," Pepper replied quickly.

I looked at Rhodey and mouthed 'sorry'. He shrugged.

"Oh please, like I remember. Cause, you know I wouldn't remember even if I did," Dad replied indignantly, "Have you apologized yet?" He asked, looking at Rhodey, sliding his feet off of the table.

"Wouldn't hold my breath," Rhodey answered. I nodded approvingly, out of the corner of my eye I could see Dad's face getting a tad red.

"This would be a good time. I'm supposed to be Iron Man and you're supposed to have my back and I got out of the game, and that left a vacuum and now you're with Hammer, and I'm sorry-"

"You know what would be great?" Pepper interrupted, trying to calm Dad down and at least talk some sense into him, "If we could get through some of the stuff on this list."

I felt like groaning. 'The list', Pepper's list of things that Dad has to do, that she can't do. It ranges from meetings to things Dad has to sign to arrangements that need his approval. Pepper has been trying to get Dad to do that for days now, sure the list is never completed, but she usually gives him a few days before she asks again.

"I'm Iron Man, okay?"

I wanted to yell again. He's acting immature and childish again. I am honestly surprised that the company is doing as well as it is with him as the CEO. Without Pepper the company would have crashed for sure.

"Okay Iron Man, could we maybe-"

"You don't know what that means, you didn't make the suit."

That is the final straw. I forced myself to my feet, glaring at him angrily. "I sure as hell didn't _make_ my suit but _I _definitely know what it means. You aren't the only one here with responsibilities, Dad. Right now you seem pretty free, just listen to Pepper for once in your life!"

I'm not entirely sure where that came from, but he's been using Iron Man as an excuse for a while now, and it was really starting to get on my nerves.

"But you're Iron Maiden, I'm Iron Man, I protect the free world."

If he is insinuating what I think he is right now… the light directly above Dad exploded. I realized it was me, but I still couldn't calm myself down, "I was Iron Maiden a lot longer than you have been Iron Man, Dad," I replied coldly.

**A/N I can't find the page break button, so sorry about that. It seems that we have ended on a bit of a chilly note. Things are starting to heat up between Luna and Tony (No not that way... ew). **

**Please review! It makes my day to read the reviews and helps me write better/quicker.**

**Until next time.**


	5. Dadda Stark

**_A/N Bet you weren't expecting me to update so soon!_**

**_Thank you all for the continued support of this story, it means a great deal to me._**

**_With school and sports it has been getting difficult for me to balance work, sports and writing, but I think that I am finally starting to get into the swing of things. I am _****_still_****_ not done with this story, the ending is proving to be longer than I had expected, but fear not! I have a few thousand words left to write, which surprisingly isn't that much. As for what happens after this story, no one has given me their opinion, so if nobody has told me what they would like or dislike I will end up doing what I want. _****_Don't say I didn't warn you!_****_ That's all I have for the Author's Note, (it really bugs me that they took away the page break option, by the way, it was a nice way to indicate when I wanted to write a note, but this will have to do...)_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but my lovely OC, Luna Stark._**

_If he is insinuating what I think he is right now… the light directly above Dad exploded. I realized it was me, but I still couldn't calm myself down, "I was Iron Maiden a lot longer than you were Iron Man, Dad," I replied coldly._

Pepper, Rhodey, and Dad gasped. I followed their eyes, looking down. I gasped, my hands are on fire. Sheepishly, I willed my hands to be extinguished, then I sat back down. Rhodey eyed me nervously, but I ignored it. I swallowed the lump in my throat once everyone had looked away. That was the tenth time I have used my powers accidentally.

"We'll cancel Monaco," Pepper quickly interjected before Dad could cause me to get any angrier.

Monaco. Apparently there was a big race every year in Monaco that Dad has a car in. There is also a big meet up sort of thing for all of the rich people to get together at while the cars are racing. But, for the rest of the week Dad, Pepper, and Rhodey stayed at a resort, and this time I'm coming. Honestly it should be pretty awesome, but with the way Dad is acting we may not go at all.

"You guys are going to Monaco?" Rhodey asked.

Dad immediately looked at Rhodey in confusion, "What do you mean 'you guys', you're coming too."

Rhodey looked hesitant as he answered "N-… I can't go."

"Oh come on, that's our thing, we need this!"

Rhodey shook his head in response "No, Tony. I have stuff to do, I have responsibilities."

Dad sat up in his chair immediately, swinging so he could face Rhodey, "So you don't wish to come?" Dad waited a few moments, hearing only silence, "Just say what you mean, you don't want to hang out with me anymore."

"I think hanging out with you is bad for our friendship."

What. You have to hang out with someone to be their friend. Like, be a friend friend at least. If you don't you're just an… acquaintance.

"What do you call that? Call the shrink. Get him on the horn. That was criminal."

Pepper, I commend her for her persistence, she grabbed her pen and paper, again trying to steer us away from dangerous waters. It's a wonder that I haven't blown a hole in the plane yet, honestly. Lately I've had more and more trouble controlling my powers. I hadn't told Dad or Pepper yet, but by the way Pepper is acting she probably knows already anyway. If Dad knows he shows no signs of talking to me about it until I bring it up to him.

""Let's move on to the birthday party," Pepper said smoothly.

"Let's." Dad replied.

The two of them looked expectantly at me, I blinked in confusion at them for a few seconds before I realized that _my birthday_ is in May too. I hadn't ever had a birthday party before in my life, so it was a foreign concept to me."I don't need a party, or presents." I told them seriously. They both gave me looks, one that basically said 'she's having a party whether she likes it or not', and the other said 'I still can't believe she's never had any celebrations before'. "Seriously, I don't need anything, I got so much when you adopted me, and again for Christmas. This is the most I've ever had in my whole life, I don't need anything else," I stressed to them.

Dad looked at me with a mix of pity and disbelief before he looked to Pepper, "How about you join her party with mine?"

I felt taken aback. I never expected Dad to share anything with anyone, much less me. Pepper also looked about the same as I did.

"I'm not entirely sure that that is very _appropriate_," She said, glaring at him. That too, I've heard about his parties. The amount of booze that goes for funding the parties and the number of drunken people at the party are very high.

Dad shrugged, Pepper taking initiative to keep the conversation moving, "I think in keeping with economical times we should do something small, less wear and tear on your body, maybe a retreat."

I admired her for trying, but I knew immediately that that was out of the question. The Tony Stark Birthday party was a known tradition. Everybody who is anybody went, there is absolutely no way that he is cancelling it.

"Oh yeah. Let's do some ashtanga yoga in a retreat in Ohio. What? That's what _you _want to do."

"No, I'm not suggesting-"

"Why cancel… oh I get it. Here's the message I'm getting, and tell me if I'm wrong again," Dad said childishly, looking at Rhodey, "because this is really really super toxic at this point, why celebrate my birth?"

Pepper sighed, as did I. He always gets his way. "Okay, we will throw a small party at the house." Pepper amended.

Dad grinned in satisfaction, after successfully winning another argument. I knew immediately it wasn't going to be a small party.

For the rest of the ride we made small talk, and I decided that I shouldn't be so angry at Dad. Sure he did some bad things, but then so do I. Maybe it's just a phase that he's going through, maybe it will all be over.

When we landed Happy was waiting for us with a limo. I immediately got in, I had about four hours until I had my movie thing with Brandon and Jaime, and I had some things I wanted to take care of first.

"You're too excited about this movie," Dad said when we were halfway home.

I sighed, "It's the first friend thing I've gotten to do with them for months. I need this, I can't always hang around adults."

He pretended to look offended, causing me to laugh. The limo took a hard turn, causing me to fall forward a bit. Dad grabbed my arm, but immediately wrenched it back. "You shocked me!" He exclaimed.

I laughed, "Yeah, there's been really low humidity lately. It's called static electricity."

He shook his head, "No, that hurt, you did it on purpose!" He exclaimed playfully.

"Baby," I shot back.

We pulled into the mansion driveway. Before Dad could even get near the door I was already rushing into the house to get ready. I only had about two hours left, and I needed to shower and do everything else that I wanted to do. Once I was showered I sat at my desk, working hard on the computer. I'd been trying to force my way into Dad's protected files for about three months now. Once he started acting weird I had decided that I wanted to find out if he'd written any of it down. Of course he doesn't _write_ anymore as much as he types. I didn't think he'd be the type to write journals or anything like that, but saved searches would give me clues at the very least. Now I had given that up, I know what was bothering him. The people trying to replicate his suits. At least, that's what I think is bothering him. I just wanted to see if any other countries are trying to make suits, and more importantly, if they were successful. I highly doubted Dad showed all of the footage of the suits, there's no way only three people are trying. There has to be more.

There was a knock on the door. I immediately shut my computer down, standing up. "Come in!" I yelled calmly whilst grabbing my bag. Brandon opened the door, looking nervous, probably because my father is standing directly behind him.

"Hi Brandon," I greeted brightly, then scowled at the person behind him, "Hi Dad," I added.

He grinned at me, "Brandon didn't know where your room was so I decided to show him."

Brandon nodded quickly, glancing behind him, "Uh, thank you, uh… Mr. Stark."

"Iron Man to you," He said forcibly.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, but laughed a little, "Come on, you can't scare away all of my friends."

"Just the boys," He called lightly, walking away once I left my room.

"Call him Tony," I told him as I lead him out of the house. Brandon smiled sheepishly as he followed me out of the house. "Bye Dad! See you later!" I called loudly as we walked out of the house.

"Bye Mr. Stark!" Brandon yelled.

"Keep your hands off of my daughter!" He yelled as a reply just as the door shut.

Brandon laughed nervously as he lead me to the car, "Don't worry about him, he's just protective, especially recently," I added once we were in the car.

He laughed again, "Don't worry about it, it's good that he's protective, so long as he doesn't blast off my head."

I chuckled as he pulled out of the driveway, "Are we picking anybody else up on the way there?" I asked, tucking a few bills into the glove box when I was sure Brandon wasn't paying attention. He never accepted gas money from me, but I knew how out of the way this drive was for him. I also knew that he kept some money in the glove box in case of emergencies. Emergencies went everywhere from him being hungry after school to him accidentally running over a neighbor's mailbox (he said it only happened once, but the multiple dents in his bumper told me otherwise).

"Nope, you're the only one who can't drive," He replied, smirking.

"I'm also the only one who has graduated," I shot back, wiping away his smirk. I grinned. I wasn't letting anyone use my notes or work, much to his displeasure. I did, however, promise to help him whenever he had trouble. He tried arguing that it was basically the same thing, but I didn't let him talk me into it. To me there was a difference from getting help than to be given the work.

"True, so what do you think about this movie?" He asked.

We were going to see 22 Jump Street, and I honestly felt excited, "If it isn't at least just as good as 21 Jump Street I'm going to revolt," I replied calmly.

He nodded, "So, how are you doing?" He asked, suddenly serious. I knew what he meant, but I didn't really want to talk about it. Maybe he'll let me evade the question…

"I'm feeling good, surgery went well and-"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," He interrupted seriously, "How are you feeling about what happened in December?"

I cringed visibly, sighing, "I don't know, I just… it's not something that everybody goes through, you know?" I asked. I honestly didn't know_ how _to feel about it. Sure the experience was upsetting, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was when I was younger. Obviously I hate his guts… but I _killed_ him. I actually killed him. Of course Brandon doesn't know about that bit but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Technically what I did was in self defense, but I still did give the final blow. Does that make me a killer?

"Nobody _deserves _to go through that, especially not you, but… are you, you know, okay? Now?" He asked hesitantly.

I heaved a heavy sigh, forcing myself to look at him, "No. I'm not okay, not like everybody else is. That isn't something that you can just forget about, but I'm strong, I think I can handle it." I admitted. That was one hundred percent truth.

"Well… if you ever… need to talk to someone, I'm all ears." He said quietly.

"Thanks."

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. It wasn't exactly awkward, probably because we only had about fifteen minutes of our ride left. I was honestly touched he was willing to listen, but I don't think that I could talk about it without giving away what actually happened, or telling him about my powers. As much as I wanted to tell him, I've only known him for a few months, I barely even know him, even though it feels like I've known him a lot longer. I hadn't even told my old friends yet luckily enough.

When we got to the movie theater we paid for our tickets, rushing because we were going to be late. We got in pretty quickly, just as the lights were starting to dim.

The movie was awesome. I can say that it was just as funny as the last one was. We made our way to the food court so we could get something quick to eat. It was only 8:15, and my curfew is 10:30, so we had plenty of time to eat.

Once we all sat down I was actually introduced to the other three people that were there, "That's Ian," Brandon said, pointing at a tall, extremely muscular guy with short, cropped brown hair, "He's going into the military," Ian waved at me with a smile.

The other two people were named Valerie and Kyle. Valerie wore her hair pin straight, and unlike Jamie, her hair looked naturally red. Kyle had blond hair, and told me extremely proudly that he was the leader of the computer club. So obviously I liked him straight away.

"So, how was New York?" Jamie asked. I was happy to see that although she was nervous around people she didn't know she was confident in her group of friends.

"Oh, it was boring. We only went for a day, and I had to hang around at the Stark Expo. I mean, it was awesome, don't get me wrong, but I just wish that I could have actually done stuff there," I explained. Everybody nodded. As I've said before, almost everyone at that school was very rich, so they understood that although you could be in a very amazing place you might not actually be able to enjoy it.

We finished our food and hung around for a little while before we all left. Brandon drove me home, we ended up making it ten minutes before my curfew. We bid each other a good night before I went into the house. The house was quiet as it usually was. I decided that I wasn't very tired, so I changed into clothes that I didn't really care much about, and made my way to the lab.

On my way down I met Pepper, who looked absolutely stunned, "You alright, Pepper?" I asked, looking at her, worried. The last time she looked this bad she had walked in on Dad while he was showering. Needless to say it was hilarious.

"M-Mr. Stark just made me CEO," She said as though she was unsure of it herself. I was shocked, I wasn't upset by any means, but I was shocked nonetheless. Dad told me that I was to be his successor, why had he made Pepper CEO?

"Congratulations Pepper!" I exclaimed after a few moments passed. I hugged her tightly to make sure that she knew I was actually happy for her. Because I was. After I got over the initial shock of Pepper being CEO I realized that I might not even want to be CEO of Stark Industries. I liked inventing things, and fixing them. Running a company actually didn't sound too appealing now.

"Don't worry, Moon, you'll still be CEO once you're old enough, and ready."

Pepper turned to me, worry etched on her face "Oh, yeah Luna I didn't mean to take anything from you!" She exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Pepper, enjoy your moment. I'd never dream of you stealing anything from me," I told her confidently. Her mouth broke into a wide smile.

"Well, I need to get home, big day tomorrow!" She exclaimed.

Once Pepper was out of the house I went into the lab. Dad followed me down. I was waiting for 'The Question' that he was probably dying to ask me. It was when I sat down at my desk, pulling up the holographic car that he finally did something.

He cleared his throat quite loudly, "So how was your date?"

I felt like groaning, or even slamming my head on the desk, "It wasn't a date, Dad," I told him forcefully.

"Sure it was, you just didn't know it," Dad replied airily, a glance over at him told me that he was enjoying this.

"So what do you call the other two girls and the two other guys?" I retorted, feeling confident that I had won.

"A triple date," Dad replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"_It wasn't a date!" _I yelled.

"Fine, 'it wasn't a date'," He replied sarcastically, I so desperately wanted to make his chair pull out from underneath him, "But how was it?"

I groaned a little, getting underneath my car so I could get to work on it. I was already at a good spot. A few of the major things were fixed, but I still had to deal with brake line issues and other things. "It was fun," I replied, trying to appease him, "The movie was good, then we went out to eat afterwards. His friends are nice, "I informed him, hoping that my description would downplay everything, making it seem like it wasn't worthy of being called a date.

"Friends are supposed to be nice when the guy likes a girl. Ever heard of the term 'wingman'? Or in this case it would be wingmen," He told me, sounding as though he was enjoying himself.

That last statement hurt, though. I know that he didn't mean it, but in an indirect sort of way, he was saying that they didn't actually like me, they were only pretending to. "Because no one would actually like me…" I replied quietly. I knew he heard it. I didn't want to make him feel bad, but I couldn't stop myself from saying it.

"That's not what I meant," He said, almost sounding apologetic.

"It doesn't matter," I told him, pushing myself farther underneath the car. He sighed a little before he went upstairs.

_**A/N**_

**_Aww Tony being an overprotective dad, how cute!_**

**_I urge you all to inform me of your opinions of the next installment of this story! If not I will choose, and I like to have your input on things like this because, after all, I am writing this for you guys!_**

**_Please don't forget to review! Reviews help me grow as a writer, and also lets me know what you guys like/dislike. They motivate me to write more too!_**

**_Until next time!_**


	6. Natalie Rushman R-U-S-H-M-A-N

**A/N Thank you all for the continued support of this story. **

**I know I haven't been consistent with updates. I am truly sorry, I'm going to be trying to fix that, I promise!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my lovely OC Luna Stark**

The next day Dad came down to the lab. I don't think he knew that I was still down in the lab. He heaved a heavy sigh when he sat at his desk. "Long night?" I asked.

I heard a gasp, followed by the scraping sound of his chair moving back quickly. I smirked. "Jesus, Moon. Have you been down here all night?"

"No, I went upstairs for a drink around three," I answered. I knew that wasn't a very good answer, but I just wasn't tired. Now that I don't have school I can let my sleep schedule go however it wants.

"You're sounding like me. So, you know now that Pepper is the CEO I need to hire a new personal assistant, right?" He asked cautiously.

I wanted to shake my head at him in disappointment. Of course I knew. Dad is lost without a PA, and god knows I can't do it. "Of course," I answered, pushing myself out from underneath the car. I'd made good progress. The transmission was replaced along with a few other parts.

Of course I was going to miss Pepper. I mean, she'll still be around, but not nearly as much as before. She was the one who got me here, and I'll never get out of my debt to her for that. If I am going to be completely honest here I'd say she's the closest thing that I have to a mother. She is. She takes care of me just as much as Dad does, and she certainly knows how to handle me better at times. I could never be that close to the new PA, even if we may start spending more time with her than Pepper. I know that Pepper has her work cut out for her, but I just hope that she won't just disappear from our lives.

When I stood, trying to stretch the soreness from my back from laying down for so long, Dad regarded me with amusement. "What?" I asked defensively. I still hate being analyzed.

"You're filthy," He replied, laughing, "You look like I did when I was your age," He elaborated when I gave him a questioning look.

I smiled. Dad may not let very many people close to him, but I'm glad he let me close. I am even closer to him than he is to Pepper, which is saying something. He actually cares for me, which wasn't something that I expected in the beginning of all of this. I figured we were just going to be at a stalemate. Go out and act nice for the cameras, but when we got home we wouldn't speak to each other. I'm glad that it turned out this way.

I looked down at myself. I was covered in oil, and I knew I had gotten a good amount of it on my face. "I guess I should shower then. Is Pepper coming around today?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have papers to sign so the company is hers. I didn't expect her to get it together that quickly, but that's Pepper. Happy is coming by later, so we can do our boxing stuff too, so don't take too long!" He called as I ran up the steps.

"Kay!" I called back, stopping in the kitchen to eat for a few minutes before taking a shower. I changed into my boxing stuff, a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. When I went back down Happy was waiting. "I figured I would let you go first today," Dad announced, already in his sweats.

"You just want Happy to be tired out by the time you get to him, Dad." I replied cockily. He laughed, I jumped into the ring without any complaint.

"Let's see what those self defense and karate classes have been doing for you," Happy said brightly. I knew Happy, he thought that he was amazing at fighting, and he was okay, but he wasn't the greatest.

Happy stepped up to me, swinging at my face. I ducked underneath his arm, landing a few punches on his padded side before bouncing backwards. He said nothing, only swung at me a few more times. I blocked his punches with my forearms, placing a well aimed knee into his stomach. Even though it was padded I heard a soft 'ooof'. I smiled, backing away, bouncing lightly from foot to foot. "Come on Happy, I know you can hit me," I taunted. I wanted him to go hard on me. If for whatever reason I needed to fight someone I knew they wouldn't go easy on me.

Happy stepped it up. His punches came more frequently, causing me to block or dodge more often than I punched. One punch came towards my face, and I knew what to do. I grabbed him by the wrist and forearm, turning so I had my hip pushed against him, and pulled on his arm. I performed a perfect karate flip.

Happy landed hard on his back, I could hear an 'ooooh' from Dad as Happy gasped for breath. Once he got it back he got unsteadily to his feet, glaring at me, "What was that?" He asked angrily.

"Karate. You said that I could practice everything I learned with you," I replied, smiling reflexively. Leaning back against the ropes of the boxing ring, I watched Happy's face turn an interesting shade of red.

"That doesn't mean flip me!" He retorted angrily.

"Fine, I think it is Dad's turn anyway," I replied, hopping out of the ring.

Dad passed me, smirking as he went. He probably wants to show me up… I watched from the couch near the ring, drinking water. Dad is getting better. Ever since the lab incident he'd been trying to get better at hand-to-hand combat. Sure with the Iron Man suit he doesn't really _need_ it, but he wanted to. He explained to me that it was a precaution. Sometimes people can get in close, too close for repulsor blasts. Plus it would help his stamina, which would help in a fight. And if he were ever caught without the suit he wouldn't be completely useless.

Happy lunged at Dad, Dad caught his arm, and promptly shoved his elbow into Happy's nose. "Aaah!" Happy exclaimed out of pain, backing away. "Sorry," Dad said, almost inaudibly.

"What the hell was that?" Happy asked angrily.

Dad backed away, still bouncing on his feet, "It's called mixed martial arts, it's been around forever-" He explained, sounding out of breath.

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it," Happy retorted angrily.

He had a right to be angry. Dad hit him where he didn't have padding. I mean, if it were a regular fight I would encourage it, but now… no.

"Come on, come on," Happy said to him as they restarted.

I heard a click of heels coming down the stairs, so I turned. Pepper was already sitting next to me, so it wasn't her, she had arrived about a half an hour ago. Must be the woman for signing the papers. A professional looking woman walked down the stairs. She had long, dark red curly hair, and was wearing a white shirt tucked into black pants, carrying a black portfolio. I stood when Pepper did. "I promise you this is the only time I am going to ask you to sign over your company," Pepper announced to Dad as the woman opened the portfolio.

"Hi," I said to the woman, feeling awkward and extremely underdressed in comparison to her and Pepper.

"I need you to initial in this box," She explained to Pepper, giving her a pen. I sighed and walked away to get another water. She just completely ignored me. I had sort of gotten used to being ignored by my father's associates, but I never did get over the annoyed feeling that came with it.

"Lesson one, never take your eye off of your- OOH!" I heard Happy exclaim. I turned to see him bouncing off of the side of the ring as Dad put the leg that he had just kicked him with back down. Dad turned, grabbing his drink.

"What's your name, lady?" Dad asked, pointing at the woman.

I walked back to the couch, water in hand, "Rushman, Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center," He called to her, still inside the ring. Uh oh. "Come into the church,"

"No," Pepper called to him, "You're seriously not going to ask-"

"Yeah, if it pleases the court, which it does," He replied.

"It's fine," Natalie told Pepper dismissively, "It's no problem."

"I'm sorry," Pepper and I both said to her, "He's very eccentric," Pepper elaborated while I said, "He's very dumb."

Dad held up the rope for the ring while Natalie came in, I wanted to punch him. I thought he was done with his whole womanizer thing. Natalie stared at Dad as he drank the brown liquid from his bottle. "What?" Dad asked. He looked at a loss for words before he turned to Happy, "Can you, uh, give her a lesson?" He asked as he stepped out of the ring.

What?" Pepper asked as he sat in loveseat next to her, while I glared at him.

"Who is she?" Dad asked, not even looking at me.

"She is from legal, and she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit-" I stopped listening then, and instead walked up to the ring.

I really didn't want to hear Pepper reprimanding Dad for ogling someone, especially when he did it right in front of us. Happy was explaining a few things to Natalie, but I could tell that she wasn't paying attention. Weird. Happy told her to come towards the middle of the ring. He wasn't wearing any of his padding, just the gloves. "You ever box before?" Happy asked her, smiling.

"I have, yes," Natalie replied with a smile.

Happy asked her what kind of boxing she did, and I could tell that she looked uncomfortable.

"How do you spell your name, Natalie?" Dad called from his seat, clapping as she spelled it for him, bringing the table-computer to life.

Natalie looked back at Pepper and Dad as they argued, I heard something about Latin, Happy smiled, "Rule number one, never take your eye off of your oppo-"

He went to punch her lightly, but Natalie turned, grabbing his wrist, twisting his arm, flipping, and grabbing onto his neck with her legs, forcing him to the ground. "Oh my god!" Pepper exclaimed, I was still looking at Natalie. She had Happy expertly pinned, pressing on his neck with her legs, holding his arm down.

"Happy!" I cried.

She let go of him, they both got up, Happy looking very red in the face, "I just slipped," He explained in embarrassment as he got to his feet.

"Yeah?" Dad asked, ringing the bell, "It looks like a TKO to me,"

"I don't think she needs lessons," I said aloud to no one in particular. Dad smirked at that, but I was thinking. How does someone from legal learn that?

Natalie Rushman. R-U-S-H-M-A-N. I'll have to Google her later.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" I asked her, she smiled at me, before turning to talk to my Dad. Damn. She still won't even say a word to me.

I walked over to Dad as he gave his finger print impressions. Once Natalie left he turned to Pepper, "I want one."

"No," We both told him, me a little more sternly than Pepper.

He immediately turned to me, "Why not? You wanted her to teach you that move," He argued, but he was smiling.

I wasn't in the mood to play-argue with him, "Something's up with her. Why does someone from legal know how to do that?"

"Brothers? I don't know. Maybe she liked karate when she was younger. She knows Latin," He informed me. I sighed, walking to my room. I want to find out everything I can about this Natalie Rushman from legal.

Natalie is a very interesting person. She can speak French, Italian, Russian, Latin, and obviously English. She used to be a model before defecting to legal. Other than that there really wasn't much. There were some things, but nothing really stood out aside from that. I figured that there would be some sort of martial arts awards or something like that, but there were none. Very strange.

Two weeks passed, and it was time to go to Monaco. Dad drove us to the jet, seeming smug about something. I couldn't tell what it was about, and I knew better than to ask. He'll tell me when he's ready I guess. It's not like he'll tell me if I do ask anyway.

When we got to the jet Pepper was already there waiting for us with Happy. It was only seven, so the moment that we got on the jet I fell asleep, I had about thirteen hours anyway. When I woke up we still had five hours left. Everybody was asleep, so I decided to go onto my laptop. Dad has wifi all throughout the jet, so I had internet. I put in headphones, listening to Iron Maiden. I'll admit that I had become partial to the band when the public christened my superhero alter ego Iron Maiden. I didn't dislike the name, I just wished that I could have had my own name, and not have been tied with my dad. Sure I love him, I just wished that I could have been separate from him. Now people will see me as a sidekick, which I don't want to be.

I looked up myself, Iron Maiden that is, online. No, this isn't my way of being vain, I am just curious what they are saying. If the public likes me that is great, but if someone were to be publically speaking against myself and my dad that could possibly mean that we have a potential threat. That or they just don't like us.

In general it seemed that the public was worried about me. They'd seen Iron Man patrolling California a lot, but no Iron Maiden. They seemed worried that something had happened to me. After all, the last the public saw of me was me being carried off by the Metue Mihi. I'll have to correct that when we get home. I'll fly over a few tourist spots and maybe help someone out if need be. That will be enough to show them that Iron Maiden is still around, and even show off my new look. If there are enough reporters I could even stop off and have a chat with them. Dad wouldn't like it very much but it'll help my public image so they don't think that I have abandoned them.

Most importantly Iron Maiden _cannot _be seen in Monaco. Pepper and Dad had already talked to me about this. I had already gathered that much myself before they talked to me about it. Unfortunately it made sense. The public was already suspicious of me being Iron Maiden for obvious reasons. If Iron Maiden were to suddenly appear in Monaco while we are in Monaco that would top it off. Of course Dad could say he brought Iron Maiden with him, but the only two women he brought here are me and Pepper, so either I would be caught, or people would assume it is Pepper. Pepper also had a fair amount of people assuming she was Iron Maiden, but we staged a little scene where I was in the same place as Pepper, so that got rid of some of the accusations, but of course some thought that someone else could just be _wearing_ the Iron Maiden suit. That one made me laugh because literally no one else _can_ wear it. I was curious as to how people could still think that Pepper is Iron Maiden though, I am a lot shorter that Pepper is, there is absolutely no way that Pepper could fit in my suit if I were able to take it off anyway.

I still don't know what I would do if I were presented with the choice of telling people about my powers. I had berated Dad for telling everybody, but in actuality, I knew why he did it. He didn't want to hide, and moreover, he wanted credit for what he did. The even crazier part about it is I _understand_ now. I don't want to hide either. But at the same time I know I'm putting a much higher target on my own back and the other people around me. I understand one thing that Dad doesn't. This is so much bigger than just me. Brandon and Jamie would be in danger too, so would Dad and Pepper. Plus my life would never be normal, not that it would change much more. My life is already abnormal. The only difference is instead of getting stopped periodically because I am Iron Man's/Tony Stark's daughter, I would get stopped all the time for being Iron Maiden. Honestly it is nice not having to be Iron Maiden all the time. That is why Dad is in trouble right now, because he is expected to be Iron Man all the time, and to be honest, I don't think he's ready for that.

Suddenly my music went from playing Iron Maiden's _Run to the Hills_ to Black Sabbath's _Iron Man._ I turned to see Dad squatting next to me holding my phone. I ripped out my ear buds, swatting at him as I laughed.

"I can't believe you!" I exclaimed, still laughing. He was grinning from ear to ear, laughing loudly. It wasn't often that I saw my Dad in casual wear outside of the house, so this looked even more genuine. He was wearing khaki shorts with an Under Armor sweatshirt, and custom made Iron Man Nike basketball shoes.

"I can't believe you!" He exclaimed back, losing his balance, falling over, "You're so vain! Looking up Iron Maiden and listening to Iron Maiden music!"

"Iron Maiden happens to be a very good band," I retorted, "And I was just looking. I think Iron Maiden needs to make an appearance. The public thinks she may have quit, or could have died," I informed him.

He suddenly became serious, "Alright. Uh, how about the day before the party you fly over one of the beaches, and then over a few hotels. Tourists will see you, and that will make the news spread like wildfire," He offered. I nodded, and he became even more serious, "Now you absolutely cannot have Iron Maiden make an appearance here, got it? If you do you might as well make a public announcement saying that you're Iron Maiden."

I nodded again. "You know the song is wrong," I told him. My father gave me a questioning look, so I elaborated, "'Nobody helps him', it's wrong. In Iron Man. I help you, Pepper helps you."

"Well the song _was_ written a while before I became Iron Man," Dad told me matter-of-factly. I knew that of course, but it felt important to me to tell Dad that he isn't alone. Somehow I just needed to do it. Dad was acting really weird lately, and I needed him to know that he isn't alone. I hope he knows that I will always have his back.

The moment that we touched the ground we were escorted into a limo so we could be taken to the hotel. The hotel was a fairly expensive one, so that meant it was almost impossible for the press to get in. Even so Dad was still stopped by a few kids so they could get pictures and signatures. Oddly enough a little girl asked for a picture with me. I complied, obviously. She screamed in excitement when I lifted her onto my shoulders for the picture.

Once that was done Dad demanded that I went downstairs straight away. He, Pepper and I all took pictures by the pool. He wanted to add to my scrapbook, so there were a few taken of all of us, then a few of just he and I, me by myself, and then him and Pepper.

The next day Pepper and I went shopping. I still hate shopping, but Pepper felt the need to remind me that I still need a dress for the event tomorrow, so I reluctantly complied. Pepper, of course, made us go into every single store. At the seventh store I got my dress. It was a short-ish cocktail dress. It was made of dark blue and brown fabric. My favorite part about it was the chest portion was a gold color, and had peacock feathers. The feathers hung from the sash/bow as well. In short, it was gorgeous. At the ninth shop we found a pair of black wedges. At the tenth shop we found a diamond collar necklace, and when we went back to the second shop Pepper got a dress and a pair of shoes there.

Then, it was my turn to torture Pepper. I went into a few electronic stores, and a few videogame stores, walking away with a few goodies for myself. When we finally got back to the hotel Dad was waiting for us, saying that he had booked us a reservation at a restaurant. At that point I was exhausted, so I decided to play as the rebellious teen. Dad and Pepper were dressed quite well, and I was wearing skinny jeans and a sweatshirt. Pepper was mortified, but Dad found it hilarious. When we finally got back to the hotel I crashed on Dad's bed, I had to go into his room to get something, but ended up falling asleep on his bed. It didn't really matter that much to him, we all had separate rooms, but each room had two beds, so it didn't matter. Even so, he wouldn't let me live it down, going as far as texting me pictures of myself asleep in his bed.

**A/N I'll ask once again for you to leave reviews. They help me gain an understanding of what you guys as readers want from stories, and I also absolutely love reading them. So yeah, please review!**

**Until next time!**


	7. Monaco

**A/N Thank you all for your continued support of this story.**

**My computer died. That's all I have to say.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Luna. That's it. The rest is owned by other people who aren't me.**

Honestly I was in no way prepared for today. I was awoken early in the morning by my dad. He was just about as grumpy as I am, the only difference being that he had a coffee in his hand and I didn't. I went back to my room , trying to prepare myself. Dad had told me about the event, and I wasn't looking forward to it. There are only about three different types of people there. The people that worked for their money and were there because they needed to be, the daughters of the people who earned the money, the only reason they are there is because they want to inherit their daddy's money, I guess I am technically one of those, but I am there to support my father, not because I want his money. Strangely enough the sons were either never there or if they are they are at the bar. Usually the daughters were a lot older than me, waiting for their fathers to kick the bucket. Then there are the rich old people who don't even run their companies anymore, coming because they don't have anything better to do or they want to see the race. This was the 'exclusive' part of the event. The _race_ was, of course, being held outside. I would have loved to be out there, but apparently it isn't _safe_ enough out there. I had _wanted_ to say 'I'm Iron Maiden, I can do as I please,' but that wouldn't work out. So, I was forced to stay inside with the rich people. It only really sucks because they all talk about the same damn things.

I looked over my appearance in the mirror once I had finished. The dress fit me the same as it had yesterday, not too tight, but it didn't hang off of me. I pulled my hair into a knot low on my neck, that was considered sophisticated, right? The only other thing I did was put on some eyeliner and mascara. I honestly didn't care for makeup, and it didn't help that I didn't know how to use it when I actually needed it, not that I thought I needed it.

On the elevator ride downstairs I rode with Dad and Pepper. Pepper's dress looked just as good as it had yesterday, but I still complimented her on it, as had she did with mine. Of course when that happened Dad complained loudly that no one ever complimented _him _on _his _clothes, so I adopted a British accent, "Oh, I must say, you look absolutely _marvelous, _father. Dare I ask where you got it?"

That, of course, made he and Pepper laugh, which kept them occupied until Happy rolled up to the front of the hotel in the Rolls Royce. The backseat was pretty cramped, I was forced into the middle. Apparently the air here was dry, because I had shocked both Dad and Pepper. I tried to ignore their talk, but being in the middle of the two I still had to listen to a lot of the talk of the company. Apparently even though Dad isn't the CEO anymore he still has work to do.

We slowed to a stop in front of the hotel where the event was being held. I took a moment to breathe and calm, my nerves. Ever since the lab incident I was finding it harder to control my abilities, Dad says it is probably the stress, anxiety, and repressed memories from the place. All I knew was when I was feeling a particularly strong emotion, whether it is happiness, sadness, or anxiety, I had a hard time controlling myself. Pepper stepped out first, I took a few deep breaths before stepping out afterwards. The sounds of the screams were almost overwhelming when Dad stepped out behind me. I felt Dad's steady hand between my shoulder blades, gently pushing me forward as he walked next to me.

We entered the hotel, and it was all over. I sighed a breath of relief, noticing that my shoulders were extremely tense. I rolled them once to loosen them, before turning to my father, giving him an appreciative look. The hotel was beautiful. I walked behind Pepper and Dad, through the people who were milling around, each had a drink in hand. By the end of the event at least a sixth of them will be drunk. Like drunk drunk.

When we reached the main lobby I distinctly heard Dad say " You know, it's Europe. Whatever happens, just go with it."

I felt my stomach sink. What could he have possibly done? Well he could have done a lot of things I guess. He has the money for it. I noticed that the pressure seemed to have risen in the hotel, I knew that it was from me. I tried my best to stop it, but I couldn't.

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper asked, looking extremely concerned.

As if it were completely timed, something _did_ happen. Natalie Rushman made an appearance. A light from the ceiling popped. I cringed. Dad gave me a look. I turned, my face red, to look at Natalie. Natalie was wearing a skin tight coral pink dress. I knew for a _fact_ that Dad hadn't even given anyone an interview for his PA. But, of _course_ he hired the sketchy hot girl from legal. I mean, come on. Who goes from modeling in Tokyo to a job in the Legal Department of SI. Why does a model even _know _French, Italian, Russian, and Latin? And of course Dad had to hire someone completely sketchy. Now I _may_ be a little biased just because she completely ignored me when she was at the house, but she was just sketchy.

"Mr. Stark," Natalie smiled as she walked towards us, ignoring the light bulb that had just exploded. She looked at me a little bit longer than Pepper, but then looked straight back at Dad, "How was your flight?"

"It was excellent. Boy, it's nice to see you."

A waiter came up to us, Dad took a drink, scotch, and Pepper took a drink too. I glared at the back of Natalie's head when I realized that there wasn't a drink for me. In that moment I wished that I could be childish and force Dad to get rid of her. I knew that it was childish, but something about her just seemed off.

"We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind," Natalie said, taking both Pepper and my father's drinks. I stepped away, trying to find the bar so I could at least drink something. I got to the bar, and sat on a stool, waiting for the bartender. I could order any non-alcoholic drink I wanted, so I decided to have a virgin Pina Colada (virgin meaning non-alcoholic). I caught a lot of stares, probably because I was the youngest person here. I shrugged it off, it was bound to happen.

I took a deep sip of the drink, enjoying the tangy taste. The sooner this day is over, the better. Unlike my father I don't enjoy being the center of attention, though I don't think he _really _enjoys it. I think that he just puts up a front. I know he enjoys arguing with people, and I know he likes attention, I just don't think he likes being around so many people. Not this kind of people anyway. Adoring fans. That's what he likes, anything to make his ego bigger. That's probably the only reason he hired her.

"You know, I meant to tell you," Dad said, practically appearing out of nowhere. I choked on my drink, giving time for Pepper to appear.

She put her drink down on the bar next to me, Dad turned to her and said "Green is not your best color."

"Oh please," She retorted.

I buried my head in my hands. Their constant fighting was starting to give me a migraine. I have never seen anyone instigate as many fights as Dad did. I don't know why he can't just cool it down.

Just as I couldn't imagine this going any worse, I heard a voice, "Anthony, is that you?"

Dad's eyes widened, looking extremely annoyed, "My least favorite person on Earth," He said just as Hammer, and his daughter Darien came up behind him, "Justin Hammer."

"How you doing?" Justin asked grinning idiotically. Darien, who stood next to him, glared at me. I decided to return the gesture. I had completely forgotten that they would be here.

From the corner of my eye I could see Dad and Pepper having a silent conversation, but I didn't break my eye contact with Darien. Bullies are sort of like dogs. If you look away it's a show of fear. You can't show fear around a bully. That's when they attack.

She finally looked away, looking bored. I smirked.

"You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car," Hammer said, breaking the stalemate. He said it offhandedly with a laugh, but the tension was there. Just like I said before, sneaky, jealous prick. "You know Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair?" Hammer asked. The girl next to him was a tall blonde, looking quite awkward. I turned to my Dad and Pepper, they both wore knowing grins. Uh oh.

"You guys know each other?"

"Yes," Pepper replied, the polite, yet annoyed smile still on her face.

"Yes roughly," Dad answered.

Uh oh.

I took another deep sip from my drink, watching them. If anything is supposed to be interesting, this is it.

"BTW, big story," Hammer said loudly, as if he were trying to diffuse the tension, gesturing towards Pepper "the new CEO of Stark Industries, Congratulations."

Christine plastered a big smile on her face, looking to Pepper, "I know, I know. My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women's issue."

If only she knew Iron Maiden was sitting this close to her…

"Oh."

"Can I?"

"Sure," Pepper replied, but I could see that she gave it a fair amount of thought.

Hammer must have felt he was falling out of the limelight because he quickly interrupted "She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair. I thought I'd throw a bone, you know."

I rolled my eyes, and took a big sip from my drink. I glanced over at Darien, she was smirking, trying to look very superior.

Pepper looked pretty interested in this, "Right. Well, she did quite a _spread_ on Tony last year."

Does she mean…

Dad quickly added in "And she wrote a story as well."

The look of shock on Hammer's face caused me to choke on my drink. Choking, I barely heard Pepper say, "It was quite impressive."

I was happy to see even though Pepper and Dad may be arguing they could still unite against someone and do it well. Maybe Dad has just been having a bad few weeks.

Christine looked extremely angry at this, but she decided to take the compliment, "Thank you."

"I'm going to go wash," Pepper said suddenly. I knew that it was because she wanted to get away from Hammer and not because she actually needed to clean up.

I moved to go with her, but a gentle but firm hand grabbed my knee. I looked up and Dad's expression clearly said 'you're not leaving me too'. Sighing, I asked the bartender for another drink.

A photographer came about, and next thing I knew I was being squished against Darien as Hammer grabbed me so we could all be in a picture together. Oddly enough Hammer was on my side, and Dad was on Darien's side. Dad looked down at her with a little bit of distaste before he put his arm around her shoulders. Hammer clapped me on the back, hard, just as the photo was taken. It startled me a little bit.

"Ouch!" Hammer exclaimed, taking a step back from me for a second, before letting out a laugh, "Must be dry in here, you just shocked me!"

I hadn't even noticed that Christine was still there.

"God that was awful," Dad said quite loudly.

"Listen," Christine said loudly, holding up her small voice recorder, "Is this the first time you guys have seen each other since the senate?"

"Since he got his contract revoked," Dad replied, a tad smugly I might add.

Dad began walking away, with Christine, Hammer, and Darien rushing to follow him, "Actually it's on hold!" Hammer called.

Dad sat at Hammer's table. I quickly got up, and faced the other way, downing my drink. At least this way he can't beg me to come over to him. I quickly did a lap around the hotel before returning to our table. Pepper was sitting there, but Dad wasn't.

"I guess Dad is still being trapped by Hammer," I said to Pepper with a laugh as I sat down next to her.

"Actually he's in the bathroom," Pepper replied, but still looked pretty amused.

"Oh. Did you know Hammer's contract got revoked?" I asked. Pepper and I laughed.

A few minutes later I was about to text Dad when I heard Pepper gasp.

I looked to where she was looking. On the TV was Dad. Dad in a blue car racing suit, preparing to get in our car for the race. No. No it couldn't be. That wouldn't be smart.

"Natalie, Natalie!" Pepper called out while I leapt from the table, running to the race. I pushed past people as quickly as I could. Dad _can't_ drive that car. It is way too dangerous. Those cars always crash, and every few years you always hear about a death. God damn it he may be Iron Man but he isn't invincible!

I pushed past an elderly man, running to the race. Doesn't he realize that he isn't just putting himself in danger, but the other racers too? No of course not. He only cares for himself. Maybe by some sort of dumb luck someone won't let him in the car. I reached a deserted part of the track where no one is. I watched anxiously, cars sped past, and I recognized our car. It is hard to believe that he is actually driving one of those cars.

Only 77 laps to go, I thought bitterly.

Just when I was thinking that this day couldn't get any worse, it did. A man with long black and grey hair leapt onto the track, wearing an orange jumpsuit. "Who is he?" I asked to myself. I looked around again, aware of how alone I am. Is he crazy? Those cars are going extremely fast, if he gets hit by one he is dead.

The man ripped open the top of his jumpsuit, and what I saw made my blood run cold. He was wearing a sort of harness on his upper body. With what looked like an arc reactor on his chest. He's here for Dad. Shit.

I looked around again, seeing nobody anywhere near me, I formed my armor around myself, and took off towards him. I flew towards him as fast as I could. I was about half way there when the pulled out whips. Electrified whips. I stopped. Images flashed before me. Electrodes being attached to my body. The pain. I shook my head and forced myself back into the present. I'm not there. I can protect myself this time.

**A/N**

**Luna seems to be having some sort of post traumatic stress disorder. Ooooh.**

**Please review, I love all of the reviews and especially the reviewers who send the reviews! They help me out a lot with writing because feedback is important for me! Until next time!**


	8. Luna? What's Wrong?

**A/N Do I smell a sub plot brewing? I will make this clear right now. As much as Iron Man 2 is about Tony Stark, as is any Iron Man movie, this story is about Luna. The first installment of this story was about both Tony and Luna, but now I want to focus on our badass Luna. One reason is because we really already know about what happens to Tony, so unless I really change things (which could or could not happen) I might as well be publishing the plot. So yeah, yay for Luna and having the story be about her. But, yeah. With that being said, please enjoy this chapter. At first fight scenes were pretty hard for me to write, but I think I am getting better at them. **

**Disclaimer: Iron Man is owned by people who aren't me. Luna is owned by me. Literally anything that doesn't have to do with Luna is not mine. **

_I looked around again, seeing nobody anywhere near me, I formed my armor around myself, and took off towards him. I flew towards him as fast as I could. I was about half way there when the pulled out whips. Electrified whips. I stopped. Images flashed before me. Electrodes being attached to my body. The pain. I shook my head and forced myself back into the present. I'm not there. I can protect myself this time. _

I got myself back into focus only in time to see him swing his whip at a car. The whip sliced clean through the car. The car flipped and bounced, only to be stopped by the barrier. This man is here to kill Dad.

I saw Dad's car this time. He whipped past me and it took a few moments to register. No! I flew at full speed after him, but it was too late. The man swung his whip at Dad's car, cutting it in half. The far flipped, only to be stopped by the barrier, upside down. Dad could have just died.

I crashed into the man with the whips, forcing us both to the ground. I was vaguely aware of an explosion behind us, but I wasn't paying attention to that.

He shoved me off of him, hitting me with one of the electrified whips. It wrapped around my neck. I felt the electricity running though my suit, I was having a hard time moving. I got pulled off of my feet, getting dragged along. I heard the sound of my suit scraping against the concrete. I desperately fought for some sort of purchase on the ground so I could get to my feet, but I couldn't.

Out of my fuzzy HUD I saw the man slash Dad's car with his whip. "No!" I yelled. Desperately I wrapped the whip with my arms, pulling myself to my feet, untangling myself as quickly as possible. Out of nowhere came Dad. He held a piece of metal, probably a part of a door or something, and hit the man over the head with it.

The man turned, and hit the metal out of Dad's hand, knocking him backward. I aimed my hand at him, but the man used the other whip, hitting my hand out of the way. Scrambling backwards, I grabbed Dad by the arm. I heard the sounds of the whip behind us, but I pulled Dad out of harm's way.

I got hit in the back by the whip, sending us flying into a car. I groaned, lying there for a second. I could feel the cuts on my face from where I had hit it inside of the mask. "Be ready to move," Dad whispered.

"Wha-"

"Now!" Dad yelled, interrupting me. I trusted him, scrambling to my feet and rushing away. There was another explosion, and I dove to protect Dad from the blast.

I got back to my feet quickly. He was advancing towards us, I tried to make myself seem bigger, and walked towards him. There is only one thought in my mind right now, 'protect Dad.' I used my telekinesis, making a large piece of a car fly at him. He cut through it with his whip like it was paper. I only just saw the car speeding towards us. I yelped in surprise, and used my thrusters quickly so I was ten feet off of the ground. Dad had climbed the fence. The man, however, had gotten hit, and was squished between the barrier and the car.

I lowered myself to the ground, relieved that Dad wasn't hurt. "Are you okay?" Happy asked us both.

"Yeah," we both replied, though my chest was rapidly tightening and I felt my breathing climb. I'm having a panic attack, I realized.

"Were you heading for us or him?" Dad asked Happy, oblivious to the fact that my knees had crashed to the ground.

"Cause I can't tell!" Dad yelled. I am half there and half somewhere else. Part of me is hanging by my wrists while I am being electrocuted, the other part is on her knees hyperventilating.

"Are you out of your mind!" Pepper screamed while hyperventilating. Yes.

I knew she isn't talking to me, but I am. I am seeing double. I forced myself to take deep breaths. "JARVIS, check my heart… everything, check everything please." I said quietly so nobody else heard me.

"Get in the car!" Pepper screamed at Dad.

"I was attacked!" Dad yelled back at her angrily.

"There are no heart problems, Miss Stark. My diagnosis is you just had a severe anxiety attack." JARVIS informed me.

…What? Anxiety attack? Me? How? Why?

I stopped thinking about myself when the whip sliced through the car.

"AAAAAAAH" Pepper screamed. Happy backed up and hit the man again and again, but he still sliced at the car again.

He did it a second time. I rushed forward to the man, yelling "Give him the case, Pepper!"

The case flew from the window while I grabbed onto the man. I flew high into the air, holding him under the armpits to force him upwards. One whip wrapped around my neck, the second around my leg. I lost my ability to fly. We came crashing to the ground, I made sure we landed on his back. I rolled away, groaning.

"Jarvis… Jarvis, what… what's happening?" I asked. My head was spinning and I felt like I was going to be sick. The pain was centered in my head, but pain throbbed throughout my entire body. I had only ever felt this once before. There is no way it is happening again.

"Miss, you have an extreme amount of increased brain activity. There are no documented afflictions that this could be similar to. The only thing that this is anywhere near is when you use your abilities, but this is much stronger," Jarvis explained.

I groaned, this isn't possible, "Just what I thought. Thanks Jarvis."

I got unsteadily to my feet, just in time to see the man hit my father's hand down with his whip. Dad shot a blast at him, only for the man to block it with his whips. I couldn't think straight, but I tried to focus enough to move something with my telekinesis. A car rose a few feet off the ground feebly, but it fell back to the ground.

Dad shot another blast at the man while yelling "Come on Phoenix, I need some help!" Dad's arm got caught by a whip, then his neck, and got flipped to the ground. He let go of Dad's arm, and used the whip to wrap it around my neck. My HUD immediately went fuzzy, and I vaguely felt myself flying. I landed hard on the bonnet of the Rolls Royce. I heard a grunt from Dad, meaning he got slammed too. We were both forced off of the car. My knees buckled as I tried to stand, but I did stand. Dad was kneeling, but the both of us grabbed onto the whips, pulling ourselves to him. I kneed the man in the gut and punched him in the face while Dad pulled the arc reactor out of his chest piece, crushing his power source. The moment I knew the fight was over I untangled myself from the suit, and consequently sank to my knees.

The pain was starting to be too much. I felt as if something was inside of my head, squeezing my brain as hard as they could. "You okay?" a voice asked. I hadn't noticed that my eyes were squeezed shut, or that I had been clenching my jaw. I forced my eyes open. Dad was standing above me, his eyes shone with worry.

I don't want him to have to worry about me. He'll think all of this pain is from him installing the suit. I don't think that is the case. The pain is something completely different, if I am correct. I only need to find out what is going on.

It took a lot of coaxing, but I stood up straight. I tried my best not to stoop, or look like I was in any pain. Of course that is a lot easier to do when you're wearing a suit of armor. "I'm fine," I managed.

"Get out of here before the press comes out. Go to the hotel, and go in through the window. We'll be there as soon as possible." Dad ordered.

For once, I didn't argue. I took off. My flight was choppy because of the damage to the suit. When I knew I was out of earshot of anyone I spoke to Jarvis. "Jarvis, do not tell Dad or Pepper about what just happened."

"About the fight or your current health status, Miss?" Jarvis inquired.

I rolled my eyes. The AI knows how to be sarcastic occasionally. "My health status, Jarvis."

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank you Jarvis, also, if I do pass out, can you set out a flight pattern in my suit to the hotel and wake me when I get there?"

"Of course, Miss."

For the rest of the flight I tried my best to stay conscious. It was easier said than done. Once I got to the hotel I was barely able to open the window. When I finally got it open I collapsed on the bed, still fully armored, and fell asleep.

**A/N**

**Post traumatic stress disorder and something else? Increased brain activity? What is happening again? **

**If you have any ideas or questions please review! If you don't review anyway! I have always said that I love reviews and I really do mean it. **

**To Sweet-sour-bipolar- Well Tony is dying because he has a hunk of palladium in his chest. Like in his chest, in his chest. It's poisoning his blood. Luna's rods are only made of a gold-titanium alloy. You are getting on to something though. Luna does need an arc reactor to power this suit because of the repulsors and all of the other tech that she has in the suit. However, Tony's reactor is used much more than Luna's is. Also, Rhodey uses the War Machine suit and does not run the risk of palladium poisoning because the reactor in that suit was not surgically implanted into his chest. **

**Tony created Luna's arc fully aware that he could possibly be poisoning his daughter. However, Luna's suit is unique in that it collapses in on itself when she retracts it into her body. Because of this the already miniaturized arc is made even smaller so it can collapse like the rest of the suit can, and pass through the rest of her body so it can be stored in her hollow bones. Tony made the suit so that when it collapsed and retracted into Luna's body that the reactor would be encased in the metal. Tony did this in hopes that it will prevent the palladium from poisoning Luna's blood. But, the metal, and thus the reactor has to go through all of the blood and muscle and skin and all of that stuff to get to the bones. I'll leave you with that. **


	9. With Great Power Comes Great Pain

**A/N Thank you all for your continued support. **

**Disclaimer: I only own Luna. Nothing else is mine. **

"Luna, Luna wake up!"

I sat up straight, fear stabbing through my sore, still throbbing body. The light bulb in the room exploded. I fought to slow my breathing, I thought that people learned not to wake me up suddenly by now. Dad stood beside the bed, still in his suit, but the jacket and tie were both gone. He looked tired, worn and weary. I knew some of it was from the fight, but some of it was from something else. He didn't look too good either. He had purple bruises forming on his face, along with the blood that was still caked around his cuts. He didn't seemed worried about that now, though. He seemed more worried about me. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking at me worriedly. I truly knew he was worried at that moment. He never calls me Luna unless he is angry, serious, or worried.

I pushed myself back so I was leaning against the headboard, trying to think. My head still hurt extremely badly. The pain was still in migraine territory, but it had lessened. That isn't necessarily a good thing. I looked at my father again. He hadn't tended to the cuts on his face yet, and I knew my face was very bloody too. "I'm fine. I was just tired. I think we should clean up." I added, looking up at him with a smile. I really hate lying to him, because I know that I am not fine, but I can't bring myself to tell him. I hate looking weak in front of anyone, and I might be able fix it before anything bad happens anyway.

Dad cracked a grin and pulled me to my feet, "Yeah, you don't want to know what I learned about my attacker?" he asked as we walked to the bathroom.

"I do. Who is he?" I asked. When we reached the bathroom I grabbed two hand towels. One for myself and one for Dad. I soaked both of them in warm water before handing one to Dad. Leaning against the sink so I could see myself in the mirror easier, I began to dab the blood away from my cuts. I glanced at my father. He was sitting on the toilet seat. He hadn't started to clean the blood away yet. He looked deep in thought. Whenever he is deep in thought it usually isn't a good thing. The only other time I'd seen him like that was when we were preparing for… that…

"Dad?" I asked, partly to prompt him to talking, and partly so he could distract my thoughts from… that…

"Ivan Vanko," Dad replied, looking at me full in the eye. I knew he was telling the truth, he has never been able to lie while looking my in the eye.

"Why did he attack you?" I pressed, I needed to know. Even though Dad was now open for attacks it didn't mean that people will attack him for no reason. And from the way Ivan had been dressed it seems like he had been preparing for this attack.

Dad breathed sharply, and stayed silent. "Tell me the truth, please," I pressed, giving him 'the look'.

Dad heaved a sigh, "He said, 'if you can make God bleed, then people will cease to believe in Him.'"

"So, in other words, he wanted to show people that you aren't undefeatable. He wanted to instill doubt in you. He's trying to get the suits taken away." I said, letting my thoughts be voiced.

Dad nodded solemnly. This one man could have potentially done what the senate and Hammer couldn't. That fight probably went viral minutes after it happened, meaning that by now the whole world could have seen it. All of Dad's good press might be wiped away now.

"Did he say anything else?" I prompted curiously.

"He said that the Stark family are all thieves and butchers. He also said that soon both Starks will be gone."

If my sharp intake of breath didn't give away my worry towards that statement, the fact that my hand towel caught on fire did. "Shit!" I exclaimed, turning the faucet on and tossing the towel under the stream of water.

"What's up with you? Lately you've been doing that a lot. Are you doing it on purpose?" Dad asked, giving me a dubious look.

I wish I knew. Actually I have an idea, but I can't say anything until I know for sure. "I haven't been doing it on purpose, I-I don't know what's going on. Maybe it's just my system getting used to the suit," I lied, hoping he would take the bait and leave me alone. When we get home I'll be able to figure this all out and try and find out the best way to go about it.

Dad immediately looked deep in thought, "Hmmmmmm, maybe. I could take a look when we get home. I'd need to do a few tests and-"

"No," I interrupted quickly. A quick check could ruin everything.

Dad narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me, "Why not?"

I decided to play the guilt trip card. I cast my eyes to the floor, letting my shoulders slump. "I-I just don't know if I can… if I can do that again. If I can put myself through it."

I glanced up at my father while still keeping my head down. What I said had the desired effect. His eyes are full of pity, while still looking very serious. "Luna… I know that what you went through was very hard, but if this is affecting your health then I need to-"

"Can we just leave it, Dad," I nearly begged, looking him full in the eye, "I just can't right now. If it gets worse I'll… I'll let you," I told him feigning defeat, "But for right now I just can't," I told him with finality in my voice.

Dad stared at me for a few moments before nodding. I walked over to him, giving him a strong hug. "Thank you," I told him sincerely.

"Vanko said one other thing," Dad spoke through my hair.

I leaned back in surprise. What could Vanko possibly have said to have Dad looking uncomfortable. Very little makes my dad uncomfortable.

"He said that he knows how to destroy Iron Maiden,"

I woke up feeling just as bad as I had when I had fallen asleep. I sat up after deciding that I couldn't fall back asleep, trying my hardest to pop my ears. That night we had decided to cut our vacation short. America was a shit show right now. So many people were jumping in on talking about Dad and how the suits should be taken away. The recent attempt on Dad's life just proved to them that he didn't deserve to keep the suit. To me it just proved that Dad should have kept his identity a secret. I was right, after all. Now that people knew Dad is Iron Man the people who didn't like Iron Man could attack him when he didn't have the suit. And that terrified me. I won't always be around to save him, not that I saved him that time. If it weren't for the electricity…

I can't let those memories run my life, but the moment I heard the noise, _saw_ the electrified whips, my whole body seized up. I couldn't move. Those memories replayed in my head and I almost watched my father die. I hadn't realized the extent of which that last visit had on me. Visit… it wasn't a visit. If I want to move on I can't keep on dismissing what happened to me. I got tortured by my biological father. It's time that I stop acting like nothing happened. It happened. Now I need to move on.

I hadn't noticed that my hands were shaking, but now that I did I clenched them into fists. Why is it that this last torture session is so much harder for me to get over than the countless ones that I had when I was younger? Is it because I can't remember them as clearly? No. I remember them fine, I told myself darkly.

I finally realized why this one stuck in my head so hard. Before he was working to improve my abilities. That is putting it mildly of course. I know he relished those torture sessions as much as I hated them. But at least then he told me that there was a reason for the torture. The outcome was supposed to far outweigh the stakes it took to get it. This time there was no goal for the torture. He tortured me out of pure spite. He tortured me because I got away. This torture was for punishment. All of the torture sessions were for punishment, of course, but when I was younger and still trusted that man. I didn't know that the torture was a punishment. I believed every lie he ever told me.

And that wasn't wrong of me either, I scolded myself. I wasn't dumb for believing him. He was my father. They are supposed to be trustworthy people. They are supposed to love you, not despise you. I wasn't wrong for thinking that he did all of those horrific things out of love. That is what he was supposed to do. It isn't my fault he was wrong.

I felt sick to my stomach, but I also felt better, stronger. _From here it will get easier_. I forced myself to stand from the bed. The jet had two bedrooms in it, I had decided to sleep away a few of the hours we had of this flight. I was regretting it now, there's a reason I never sleep at home. I grimaced when I looked in the mirror, I had dark purple bruises under both eyes, and a large cut on my lip from where I bit it, and on my forehead. Hopefully neither of these will scar. I decided to walk out of the room to the main area of the jet in hopes of finding some sort of pain reliever. My head was still pounding, once I got home I was going to figure out exactly what was causing it.

I walked towards the main part of the jet when I heard a voice drift from it "Tony, what are you not telling me?" a voice I recognized as Pepper's ask. I stopped, and slunk towards the door quietly.

I don't normally eavesdrop, I honestly felt it was wrong, but I _needed_ to hear this. I knew that there was something Dad wasn't telling me, and apparently he wasn't telling Pepper as well. Perhaps he would open up to her, this recent amount of reckless behavior isn't coming from nowhere.

"I don't want to go home. At all," I could agree to that. I wasn't looking forward to going home. There is going to be so many more paparazzi people following us around I'll be surprised if I am able to leave the house at all. I am getting tired of being viewed under a microscope by the rest of the world. It is tiring trying to act perfect around everybody, not that I don't get bad publicity anyway. Not to mention I'm going to need a lot of makeup so it isn't obvious that I've just been in a fight. "Let's cancel my birthday party and uuuhh… go to Europe. Let's go to Venice. It's a great place to… be healthy," Dad begged. It wasn't something I heard from him often. I'd heard him beg, sure, well, not beg. He'd negotiated before, but he seemed like he was desperate not to go home.

"I don't think now is the right time. We're kind of in a mess," Pepper informed him, as if he didn't know.

"Yeah, but maybe that's why it's the best time."

"I think as the CEO I need to show up-"

"As CEO I think you're entitled to… a leave," Dad cut Pepper off. I leaned against the door so I could press my ear against it easier. I really shouldn't be listening but… I need to know if Dad is going to admit to something being wrong.

"A leave?"

"A company retreat," Dad improvised. You're fighting a losing battle, Dad, I thought to myself. If it's one thing about Pepper it is that she is very serious about her work. Monaco probably felt like too much of a break to her.

"A company retreat? During a time like this?" Pepper asked incredulously. Told you, Dad. It's a good idea, but we're needed at home. We have responsibilities.

"Well I'm just saying, to recharge our batteries and figure it all out," Dad sighed, defeated.

"Not everyone runs on batteries, Tony."

I heard Pepper stand from her seat. I quickly retreated a few paces, walking louder than necessary just so they knew I was coming. Pepper emerged from the room, smiling at me as I approached. "Did you sleep well?" She asked.

I felt extremely guilty for eavesdropping on the two of them, and I tried my best to keep my expression from giving me away. If Pepper could tell something was wrong she didn't appear that way. "Uh, not really. I think the pressure is giving me a headache, do you have any aspirin?" I asked.

Pepper looked around in her purse for a moment, "No, I have Motrin though," She said, handing me two of the little circular pills. She frowned, the skin creasing just between her eyebrows, "You've been complaining about headaches a lot lately. Is something wrong?" She asked, concerned.

My stomach dropped, and it felt like it was made of ice. Yes something is wrong. But I can handle it. "No, I get headaches like this sometimes. It comes with the powers I guess." I told her, pretending to be nonchalant. It wasn't a complete lie. I felt horrible lying to her, but I will tell them what's going on, I just need to figure it out myself first.

I guess my feint worked, because Pepper only nodded in response, continuing her walk down the hall. I took a deep breath before walking into the room. Dad sat in his chair, looking deep in thought. When I sat in the chair opposite him he looked up. He looked determined. That's not always a good thing.

"What is going on lately?" He asked me after a few moments of silence. I forced myself not to bite my lip.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He could have meant a lot of things, after all.

Dad looked me full in the eye, as if to say 'quit the bullshit'. "Why are your powers out of control, and why are you acting like you're hiding something?"

He was frowning at me. He looked genuinely upset that I wasn't confiding in him. That was a first for me. People usually don't care. I wanted to tell him, I really did. But I am an unusual person to begin with, and if what I think is happening is actually happening then I will seem even more unusual. I can't risk it. "I already told you why my powers are going haywire, and you're hiding something too! If you tell me what you're hiding I'll tell you what I'm hiding," I bargained. I knew my father enough that he wouldn't take the bait. This way I could let him know that I know he's hiding something.

"That's not how this works," Dad said stubbornly. "I'm the father, and you're the daughter. Tell me what's going on," He demanded.

His tone was cold. It honestly stung just a little. He'd never talked to me that way. I unintentionally shied away from him. I have never been afraid of him before, but in that moment I had been. Not because he is scary, he reminded me of someone. I think he noticed me flinching, because his expression softened. Suddenly he didn't look so hostile, just tired.

"I can't tell you, just like you can't tell me. It's nothing big, Dad, don't worry," I told him, looking out the window, "It's not like I'm dying."

"Is it about what happened a few months ago?" He persisted. I turned back to look at him. He definitely looked worried. He was frowning with his forearms on his knees, hands clenched into fists. "I know it's bad, but if you need to talk about it I'm right here."

"I'm fine, it doesn't even bother me," I lied. I don't want the help, I don't need it. I don't want to be weak. Weak is all he's seen me as ever since I'd become a part of the family. I don't want to be weak. I have never been weak. I've always been on my own, and I don't see why now my weak side has been appearing.

"I know that's a lie, Luna. You haven't slept since you came home from the hospital, and when you do I can hear you crying out in your sleep. You stay up all night working on your car and you sleep during the day when I'm not home. I have security cameras. I can see that you only sleep for about three hours a night. It isn't healthy."

"Yeah," I shot back, angered, "Then why when you sleep can I hear _you_ having nightmares too? Afghanistan screwed you up too! Don't act all high and mighty to me when you're doing the same exact thing as me!" I exclaimed. I don't know where it's coming from, but I think it's all the anger and frustration that has been bubbling up from the past few months of his crazy stunts. Either way his expression softened. I knew I had hit him where it hurt. If I wasn't so angry I would have felt bad. But right now I didn't.

"You know what? I do need to talk about it, but you need to talk about it too. How about I talk to you about Afghanistan, and you talk to me about the torture?"

I swallowed hard, but nodded. If he is willing to talk to me about Afghanistan, then I can talk to him.

For the remaining hours of the flight we talked to each other. It was strangely therapeutic, not just telling my father about my problems, but listening to his as well. It was hard for both of us. I was sweating by the end, but then so was Dad. I felt exhausted, but it was almost time for the jet to land. Pepper rushed me into one of the bedrooms, adding makeup here and there to my various bruises and cuts. By the time we were done the plane had landed. I checked myself in the mirror one last time.

"Thanks Pepper, you're amazing," I thanked her. She did wonderful work. Even this close I couldn't even tell where my bruises and cuts were. I definitely wouldn't have been able to do half as good of a job as she did.

She laughed while putting the makeup away in her purse. She really did look beautiful. I knew her well enough to know that she barely wore any makeup. She didn't feel she needed it. Honestly I didn't care whether or not a woman felt the need to wear makeup. If she felt confident with makeup that's great, and if she felt confident without it that's great too. "Thanks, I used to do it for your father all the time. I guess I just got good at it."

I smiled at her before I rushed to get my bag. We stepped out of the jet together with my father behind us. Just as I suspected the crowd of paparazzi was larger than when we left. Dad rushed me into the limo, he knew I didn't like the paparazzi. "Thanks," I mumbled as Happy sped away from the airport.

He smiled "I know how much you hate them, I figured that it would be better if I didn't anger you any more than I already have."

I nodded before curling up on the chair and fell asleep. Somehow I think I won't have a nightmare this time.

When we got home I decided that now would be the best time to have Iron Maiden make an appearance. I took off as soon as we got home, making my rounds around highly touristy parts of the state. It all went well, even as I was flying I saw people stopping and pointing their fingers and phones to the sky at me.

Then, for the rest of the week Dad and I were on lock down. Pepper and Natalie were busy doing damage control at Stark Industries. I figured that they would be doing that. Apparently Stark Industries stocks took a huge hit from Ivan's stunt. I wasn't surprised by that either. Natalie was busy doing press work. She was giving statements that were 'from Dad', but were really prepared by her. Basically all she was telling the public was that Dad is still a national hero. Dad and I spent the majority of the time in the lab. What he didn't know was that I had fixed the security camera in the gym to show an endless loop of an empty gym while I was in there.

What I was doing was testing my powers. When I was younger I had developed my telekinesis before my pyro abilities. I had gotten a good handle on them, and then, for seemingly no reason, my telekinesis was going haywire. Then, I started developing my pyro abilities. It started off small, my hands getting hot when I was angry or upset, nothing majorly noticeable. Then, the day that I escaped, I got so angry that I had caused an inferno. I think that's how it works. My powers go haywire when I am developing a new power, while I start showing signs of what it is, and then something happens, and I let loose a burst of my new power. There are two problems with this. One, I never notice the signs of my power, meaning as of right now I have absolutely no clue what my new power is going to be, if I am correct in guessing that I am getting a new power. Number two, my new ability has the potential of burning me up. Basically when the burst comes, I either tame it, or it tames me. The last time with my pyro powers I had burst into flames, and I could actually feel the flames consuming me from the inside, out. I barely got myself under control.

I started calling it the supernova effect. What a supernova is in nature, is basically a star that explodes, and then collapses in on itself. With my powers, both telekinesis and pyro, they exploded out of control in one burst, and then it never happened again. The only difference is that I run the risk of my powers consuming me. Which is bad. And the last time my pyro ability was much worse than my telekinesis explosion was, leading me to believe that the development of this new power is going to have an even worse explosion than my last one did.

So now while I'm in the gym I'm trying to figure out what my new power is. If I feel anything strange, that could give me a clue as to what my powers might actually be. Then, maybe I can figure out what my power is, so I'll be prepared for 'The Supernova'. So far I haven't had any luck, or at least I haven't noticed it. After three hours of meticulous training I gave up. Sweaty and exhausted, I returned to my room so I could shower.


	10. I Hate Birthday Parties

**A/N My game got cancelled due to rain today, so I had a lot of extra time today********so I figured that I can put out a chapter a little earlier than I thought I was going to be able to. **

**For art I've been working on a painting that is sort of Luna, when I'm finished and happy with it I'll post it on the tumblr so those of you who want to see it can. **

**Disclaimer: Luna is the only thing I own.**

_After three hours of meticulous training I gave up. Sweaty and exhausted, I returned to my room so I could shower._ Once I was done I flopped on to my bed. Tomorrow is Dad's party. My birthday already passed earlier this week. I had my friends over. Dad gave me another car, this time an Audi. He claimed that this car was to be my learning car for when I got my permit. Apparently I am a natural at driving. Dad took me out to drive a few times this week and I was pretty good at it. He claimed that I could have taken my road test and passed with flying colors already. I think he was exaggerating.

Dad warned me that workers would be in and out of the house all day tomorrow. Bringing in food and alcohol and things of the like. All I wanted was for tomorrow to pass. I don't want the day to pass because I don't want to celebrate my father's birth, I just don't want to deal with all of the drunk people. As it was I had already hidden everything that I felt was valuable or breakable so if any drunken person were to stumble into my room they won't break anything.

I sighed, eyeing the small black dress that hung on my closet door. I was told by Pepper that I had to wear it, as this was technically my party too. She also promised she would come early and do my makeup and hair for me. She promised that that wasn't my present, but she felt the need to do it anyway. Pepper doing my makeup and hair had become a sort of ritual for us. Even though she hasn't been able to do it lately, Pepper doing my makeup and hair was our bonding time. Pepper was always so busy, especially now that she's CEO of Stark Industries, but even so she promised me to make time for our makeup time. I liked it when she did my makeup. It was our time to talk to each other without Dad being around. I relished our time together. I had never had a feminine figure in my life before. I honestly saw Pepper as a role model. She was always so determined, headstrong, persistent. She's everything I aspire to be. If there is anyone in the world that I would want to call mom, it is her.

I was still deep in thought about tomorrow as I fell asleep.

The next morning I was awoken by the sounds of doors opening and slamming shut, accompanied by the loud voices of what I assumed were the workers and party planners. Groaning, I sat up. Last night I hadn't dreamt at all, in fact, I hadn't dreamt all week. It was invigorating, I walked downstairs to see Natalie directing the men and women to where the items belonged. I had to give it to her, she was doing a good job.

She turned around, spotting me. I forced myself not to cringe. I hadn't officially met her yet. "Hello Miss Stark, I'm Natalie Rushman," she introduced herself, sticking out her hand. I looked up at her instead. Her eyes were cold instead of warm. She wasn't being genuine with this welcome. It was strictly formal and businesslike. Not the way that you would want to greet someone you'll be dealing with as long as you are my father's PA.

Normally I would have accepted the olive branch, but I was still pretty peeved that she hadn't made an effort to meet me sooner. "Yeah, I know, Dad hired you like two weeks ago," I replied to her rudely after shaking her hand. I saw a brief amount of irritation flicker through her face before she masked it. That startled me, I'd never seen anyone be able to hide their expression that quickly.

"I know, I'm sorry, I wanted to meet you sooner, but I've just been so busy," she apologized. I could tell the apology wasn't real. It was fake.

"Yeah, well, you can call me Luna. There's no need to go all formal on me," I told her, looking her in the eye. She didn't seem at all fazed by this, in fact, she smiled.

"I'll remember that," She replied, walking away while still clutching her clipboard. I rolled my eyes, continuing my walk to the lab.

It really bothered me how she pretended like I didn't exist. I saw the flirty eyes that she sent to Dad while she worked, and even worse, I saw the eyes he sent back. From what I could see all she cared about was her job, and Dad. Which is fine because that is technically her job requirement but I had grown so accustomed to Pepper. Pepper was always there, not just for me. She had such a big heart, she wasn't just working for Dad, she was taking care of him. I missed Pepper being around all of the time. Now that she wasn't around we didn't get home cooked meals, we got take out every night. I know that it's selfish of me to want Pepper to be here when she is at work doing something that many people dreamed of. I guess I just miss her always being around.

I typed in my code to the door, not wanting to use my powers and have them go haywire. I noticed Dad rushing to hide something when I came in. I sighed. That was happening a lot lately. I feel like part of the reason he is being so secretive is because I am being secretive. Like he is trying to teach me a lesson. Either way it was irritating and I couldn't wait for this phase to be over. When I got into high school I thought that I would be done dealing with childish people.

"Happy birthday!" I called brightly to him as I walked towards him. He smiled as I approached, throwing his arms open for a hug. "How does it feel to be extremely old?" I asked, squeezing him tightly.

"How old do you think I am?" He asked, pulling away to look at me.

"Seventy," I replied with a devilish grin. "Oh, crap! I forgot your present, hold on!" I exclaimed, sprinting up the stairs past the workers to my room. I slid underneath my bed, grabbing the present. I guess I went kind of cheesy on this one, but I saw the Iron Man wrapping paper in the store and I just couldn't resist. I rushed back to the lab, throwing the glass door open so violently I saw Dad cringe, thinking that I might have broken the glass.

"I know it's early, but I wanted it to be special," I told him, handing him the present. He smirked at the wrapping paper, I knew that I had chosen right.

He pulled away the paper, stopping at what it was. It was a red and gold scrapbook. The title was in silver. 'Proof Tony Stark Has a Heart'. I had chosen the title after I saw Pepper's gift to him. Just underneath the title was a replica of Dad's Arc Reactor. I even went in and fixed it so it would have a nearly unlimited battery supply, and it was glowing the right color. I saw his mouth flicker, his fingers falter. For a moment I thought he didn't like it. He flipped open the book, running his fingers across the pages.

The pictures were different than the ones in my scrapbook. I had found pictures of him when he was little, so I had made the pictures go in chronological order. First were the pictures of a little Dad with his mother, strangely enough I never found pictures of him and Howard. Dad grew up a little in each picture. Then, at seventeen I couldn't find any pictures of him until he was twenty one. I knew why. I skipped the gap from sixteen to pictures of he and Pepper at company events and dinners. Then I gradually joined them in the pictures. The final picture was of Dad, Pepper, and I in Monaco.

When I looked closely I swore I saw his eyes tearing up. "T-thank you," He stuttered, looking up at me. I gave him another hug. "I love you so much," He said into my hair. I hugged him harder. Although we both knew we loved each other we rarely said it. We never needed to, so when either one of us did say it, we knew we meant it.

When he let go I pulled away, sitting on his desk, "I left the rest of the pages empty so we can add to it," I told him. He smiled weakly at me before looking away.

"I hope you don't mind, but there's another present coming tonight," He told me, his eyes wet. I glared at him, I really didn't want another present, "Don't give me that look!" he exclaimed, laughing, "You're going to like this one, I swear."

"I liked the other ones, but you're giving me too much, I'm just not used to it, that's all," I told him honestly. He looked down, knowing I was indirectly making a reference to my past, "Don't get me wrong, I love it."

He nodded, still looking down. "I just wish that Pepper could've found you sooner. If I had met the bastard I would ha-"

"Hey," I interrupted, "he's gone now. I just want to put it all behind me. There's no use in dwelling on the past if it's not going to change the future." I told him. I don't want to think about it anymore. I understand that it happened, and I'm fine with that, but I don't want to sit there and analyze it. There isn't any harm in me avoiding upsetting situations, right?

Dad nodded again. "Yeah, but still, I think you're going to like this present tonight." He insisted.

"Speaking of tonight, I guess I should start getting ready. I still have a lot to do," I informed him.

He looked up at me in surprise, "What else do you need to do? You look great right now."

I looked down at myself, I am wearing fluffy pajama pants with an MIT tee shirt. My hair was up in a messy bun. "Oh yeah," I replied sarcastically, striking a pose, "I am _so_ ready for the photographers, don't you think?"

"You've never looked more beautiful," He answered.

"Liar," I retorted, walking up the stairs. I still need to drunk-proof a few of the rooms, namely the entertainment room, there is no way I am sacrificing my Xbox to someone's spilt wine. I also needed to shower, and get dressed so I will be ready when Pepper gets here.

Knock, knock knock, knock.

"Come in Pepper!" I called from my seat in front of the mirror. I had just finished drying my hair so it would be ready for whatever Pepper decided should be done to it.

"Hi Luna! Oh my god you look gorgeous!" She exclaimed as she walked in. I smiled, giving her a big hug as she came near.

"You look amazing yourself," I replied. Pepper must be the master of dresses, because she always chose the right one. Her dress is black, like mine, but the neck of the dress hugged her collarbones nicely. She had a lovely looking double gold necklace too. Her dress was at a respectable length.

"So, what do we think tonight, actually, no- I have the perfect thing!" She exclaimed, grabbing my curling iron and plugging it in, "But first you have to promise to not protest, okay?"

She made me nervous. Usually I protest when she is trying to use too much makeup, or make me prettier with makeup. I don't like to be covered in makeup, I like makeup to enhance my beauty, not be my beauty. "Fine, work your magic."

Pepper got to work, using the curling iron and hair spray like an extension of her body. My hair was beautifully curled, she wasted no time getting my makeup together and starting her work on my face.

"I'm thinking we'll do a smoky eye tonight," Pepper told me, grinning as she came closer to me with the eye shadow brush. I leaned back in the chair. The most that I have ever had on my face is natural makeup. I've never had colors on my face, much less black. Smoky eyes are considered sexy. I don't want to _be_ sexy, well I do, but not here. And I also don't want help with it either.

"What do you want to do, hook me up with some drunk guy?" I asked her, jerking away from the brush.

Pepper took a step back, putting her hands on her hips, "I thought you agreed you wouldn't fight me on this?"

I slumped back in my seat, glaring at her, "Fine, go ahead, if you find me drunk off of my ass kissing some forty year old you know why," I told her grudgingly.

She snickered while carefully applying more and more makeup to my face. Finally I decided to speak. "How is being the CEO, is it everything you dreamed of?"

She smiled and laughed, "I never dreamed of being the CEO of Stark Industries. I wanted to run a company… eventually… but once I became your dad's PA I was happy. But being CEO has been amazing, and really hard, but I _think_ I am doing okay. It's hard, but I think I'm handling everything well."

When Pepper talked about the company she seemed passionate. I could tell that she wasn't exactly sure about what she was doing, nor was she completely comfortable with it, but she was passionate. She wanted to do the job, and do it well. She wanted to show people that she could do the job well. And that will make her succeed. If there's one thing that is special about Pepper it is that she actually gives a shit about her job.

"You can do it Pepper, if there is anyone that is capable of doing that job well, it's you," I told her confidently. Her face broke into a wide grin.

"I'm so glad you said that. I was so worried that you were upset that I am the CEO. I know that Tony promised you that you would succeed him, and you will get the job as soon as you are ready-"

"Don't worry Pep," I interrupted her nervous babble, "I'm not even sure that I want to _be_ the CEO. It's so much pressure and hard work. You know me, I'm like Dad. I can't sit behind a desk, I like to tinker, I'm restless. The best thing that ever happened to me was you coming to the orphanage. I've never had a family, and you gave me one."

About two hours later there was a ring at the doorbell. Joy, the first partygoer had arrived. I sat up on my bed a little bit more, looking around to make sure everything that was either important to me, or expensive was put away. There was no need for Dad to spend even more money on me than necessary to replace things that I really didn't even need because someone broke it.

"Hey Moon, do you mind answering the door?" Dad asked over the PA system in the house.

"Seriously!" I yelled out of frustration to the air, I knew he couldn't hear me, but it still made me mad. Pepper had gone home to get Dad's gift, she had forgotten it at her house. "They're _your_ guests! Why do I have to answer the damn door?"

I got up, shoving my chair back. I know it's a bit ungrateful of me to act this way, but he knows how I feel about this party. I thought that he would at least have the decency to answer his own door and not make me do it.

I rounded to the door, feeling even angrier. I'm not sure where the sudden spike of anger came from, but all I know is I am angry. What celebrity came first for the party?

"Welcome to the fu- oh,"

Brandon stood waiting at the door in a black suit with a black tie, holding a present. "Is this a bad time?" He asked, laughing.

"Wh- why are you here," I sputtered, flabbergasted. Why is Brandon here? The last thing I want is for him to be here. Dad will surely be highly intoxicated, as will all of his guests. I don't need him to be here. _I _shouldn't even be here.

"I got invited… I'm guessing that your dad didn't tell you," he explained with a laugh. He was looking at me as if this was the first time that he had ever looked at me before. Like really looked at me. Now I know why Pepper put in so much effort to make me look nice.

"You remember where my room is right?" I asked. Brandon nodded, looking confused, "Go there please, I just need to talk to my dad for a minute."

I half walked half ran to the lab, taking each step two at a time. I needed to know why he thought that it was okay to invite Brandon here. Not that I wasn't glad to have his company, but I really didn't need him here to see my dad drunk off of his ass. Plus I wanted to know why the rest of my friends weren't invited. He was probably still on this crazy idea that Brandon likes me.

I got to the last stair, and was about to punch in the combination to the door when I saw Dad and Natalie in a very close proximity. If I were going to take any guesses I'd say that they were about to kiss, or they just had. That was it. I had already told Dad that I didn't really like Natalie before, and now he was doing this behind my back? I'll get him back, that's for damn sure.

I stormed angrily back up the stairs, careful to make sure that neither Dad nor Natalie could hear me. Then I rushed to my room. "Sorry about that," I apologized to Brandon, shutting the door to my room. What better way to piss Dad off than break rule number one? "I just had to give my dad something," I lied.

Brandon was sitting in my computer chair, leaning back as far as it would let him. It was then that I noticed that he had cut his hair. It was short now, buzzed on the edges with the top left longer, gelled up. "It's no problem. You look stunning, by the way, like absolutely gorgeous. Just… wow." He admitted. I felt like laughing. He was stumbling over his words worse than the kids in our English class did when they had to read their essays out loud.

"Thanks, your hair looks great you know. I can actually see your eyes, what color are they? Blue or green?" I asked, joking. He laughed. The sound was nice, sometimes people have really annoying laughs, but his is… musical. Not like mine, I giggle like an idiot, high pitched and annoying.

"They're somewhere in between I think. I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress," he remarked, playing with a pencil from my desk.

"I guess you don't look in any magazines or watch the news, then. Dad's events are always well publicized, and unfortunately I'm supposed to wear one of these," I added darkly, tugging my dress down more for emphasis because it had ridden up.

He smirked, "I don't pay attention to the paparazzi, they portray everyone negatively, I can't stand it. Wearing a dress isn't a bad thing, by the way, you look amazing in it."

My face grew hot and I knew my cheeks were turning a bright red color, I could see him grinning at my reaction, "Thanks, you look awesome in a suit. I think that this is the first time I've seen you in something formal without mocking it with some type of clothing underneath it. It looks great," I complimented. I truly meant it too. Brandon looked hot. He always looked good in his normal clothes, but now he looked extra hot. I guess I know what a guy feels like when they see girls dressed up now.

He smirked, "Obviously you haven't seen my shoes," He replied with a manic grin.

I looked down, sure enough he rebelled against formality in his signature way. He was wearing scuffed black converse as well as his signature pink Floyd guitar pick necklace even though I know that he doesn't even know how to play guitar. "Oh yeah, and the only reason I'm wearing the monkey suit is because your dad threatened to kick my ass with the Iron Man suit if I showed up not wearing a suit," he explained with a laugh.

My expression darkened at this. Of course he had to boss around Brandon. "Yeah he's been doing that a lot lately. I'm sorry, you didn't have to come here dressed like that if you didn't want to," I apologized, feeling bad. Not only was I not expecting him, but he was probably really uncomfortable.

"No, no don't worry about it, it's your birthday party, I would have dressed up anyway. My mom has events for her music sometimes too, I have to dress up for those sometimes. Do you know how embarrassing it is for my mother, a classical piano player, to have a son that is a diehard rock and metal fan? I swear I am the world's biggest disappointment," he explained with a laugh. I knew that the last sentence was meant to be a joke, but I could tell that there was actual hurt underneath it. I felt bad. I know what it is like to be a disappointment at the very least. But I have met his mom a few times now. She doesn't seem disappointed.

"Oh come on, I've heard you play the piano before in music class, you play beautifully, I'm sure your mother is proud," I encouraged. Brandon is amazing, there is no possible way his parents could be anything _but_ proud.

"Yeah they are, but I think they're just disappointed that I'm not like the rest of the family. When I play the piano at home it's always to punk and rock music. They actually make piano sheet music for most rock songs you know. No I know my parents are proud of me, I think that they're just sad that I'm not more like my older sister._ She _is the perfect child. She plays the violin. Straight classical music extraordinaire. She's in college for her music degree, then she and my mom are going to pair off and make a song together, that way Violet can get a bit of a name in the business and do well as a musician. Violet doesn't want the help, but mom insists," Brandon explained. He didn't seem at all bitter at the mention of his sister. He seemed very proud of her actually, if not a bit wistful.

"Come on, you're going to become the world's best engineer and you are going to head the R and D department of Stark Industries. That's something your parents will be proud of," I pushed. Brandon is amazing in his classes. There is no way he won't amount to something.

"There is no _way_ I am making that. Plus your dad would never hire me," He added thoughtfully, spinning around in my chair slowly. I sat down on the desk next to him, crossing my legs. The doorbell rang , but this time there is no way that I am answering it.

"Dad's not the CEO anymore, Pepper is, besides, if you ever send me a resume when I am the CEO I'd hire you," I admitted. I've seen Brandon work in class, he's dedicated. If he works as hard as he does in class there's no way I couldn't hire him.

Brandon sat so far back in his chair I'd have thought that I stung him. He immediately stopped spinning to look me clear in the eye, " I don't want to be given the job, Luna. I want to earn it," he told me stonily.

"I wouldn't hire anyone who doesn't deserve it, Brandon, I'm just saying, don't be afraid to send a resume," I replied evenly.

He smiled, then looked serious, "You know I wasn't kidding about talking to me about… what happened. I won't pretend to understand what happened, or try to relate to it, but I know it helps when you talk about it. I just… I just want you to know that I'm ready to listen," He finished, heaving a sigh.

I felt bad. I know that he wants to be there for me, but I don't feel confident enough in myself to tell him about what happened without giving away my powers. I only met Brandon a few months ago, a lot can change between people with time, especially when you've only just met the person. The last thing I need is for me to tell Brandon about my powers and for the two of us to have a fight. Not that I think Brandon is the type of person to run around telling people about my powers as revenge, but you never know.

"I know you are, Brandon, but I just can't do it right now. It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't want to ruin tonight for either of us. I know that it will ruin my night…" I explained, letting my voice trail off. If I do talk about it I will probably be in a bad mood all night, so that wasn't a complete lie.

"Some other time then. I just don't want you to think that you're alone."

"I appreciate that," I acknowledged. I really do appreciate it, I'm just not ready to tell him. I wish that I could tell him, but it's just not smart. He can't know my biggest secret ever, not yet.

"That's fine, it's just… I know what it is like to be abused, and I know that you need to talk to someone," He said it all quickly in one breath of air. What? Brandon was abused. The fuck? By who?

"What do you mean? You weren't-"

"My dad wasn't always the nicest man ever. Way back about ten years ago, when I was seven my mom and dad weren't doing too well. Dad was still Mom's agent, but Mom wasn't really that big ten years ago. Dad used to drink a lot to deal with it, and that used to mess with our money situation a lot, which only made him drink more. Dad wasn't a happy drunk. He used to terrorize my mother and sister a lot more than he would me. One time I saw him smack my sister, she was ten at the time, I was six, and I stood up to him. I didn't want to see him hurt my sister. He hit me a lot. It happened until I was eight, my sister finally called the cops on him, he had hit me really hard that night and threw me down the stairs. He went to rehab for five years, during that time my mom got famous, her music was so much better, less strained when she wasn't under the watchful eye of my father. She got her first big recital when I was twelve. Dad got sober when I was thirteen, he came back a changed man. He and my mom remarried. I try to forget, but for two years of my life I was terrorized by my dad. My sister still won't even talk to him, but I've been trying to forgive him. But some things are pretty hard to forgive you know? Mostly we don't talk when we are alone. We kind of have an unspoken agreement, I leave you alone, you leave me alone. He apologized when he came back but… it's just hard, you know?" he asked, finally looking up at me rather than staring at the floor. His eyes were wet. I never imagined in a million years that Brandon would have been abused. He didn't seem like he ever had been, but I guess that that is just the type of person he is. He probably internalizes everything. It makes sense to me.

"Oh Brandon, I'm so sorry," I said, getting up to give him a hug. He sniffed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Sorry, I've never told anyone about that," He said with a small, bitter laugh, "I was telling you to tell me about your problems when I wouldn't do the same about mine. What was your biological father like?" he asked innocently.

I cringed. My father was so much worse. "Well he was a drunk too. You see this scar?" I asked, tracing a finger along the puffy white scar on my forearm, "That's from him. My mom died during childbirth, and he took that out on me. He never loved me," I confided. My eyes were getting wet too, but I can't cry. I don't want to look weak anymore. Weakness is what got me in trouble in the first place.

I got up, turning away from him so I could gently wipe the wetness from my eyes. I cleared my throat, "Do you want anything to drink, I'm sure my dad has some non alcoholic stuff somewhere."

"Luna, don't worry, it's okay to cry," Brandon said. I could tell he was still sitting down. I shut my eyes hard, squaring my shoulders.

"Come on, I'm thirsty, besides, the people who are here probably aren't drunk yet. This may be our only chance to get out without having drinks spilled on us," I urged, opening my door. I heard Brandon sigh before the wheels of my chair squeaked.

**A/N Please no one kill me. I know how relationships are viewed in fanfiction, and I promise you this one will be different. **

**To Dgreen20- Thank you so much! You don't even know how much that means to me! As for the followers and favorites, I never dreamed anyone would even like what I write, the fact that so many of you at least seem to enjoy my work means so much more to me than words can even describe. I do want to do something with the Avengers and possibly Iron Man 3. I think I have said it before though, like Tony I have a horrible fear of commitment. I tend to start projects and never finish them. But I do****_ want _****to do something with it. For now I'm taking everything as it goes and doing what I can. School may get in the way, but I promise I'll try to always have some sort of project going. **

**As always I would like to thank all of you for the continued support of this story. **

**Until next time!**


	11. This Changes Everything

**A/N Thank you all for your continued support of this story.**

**We left off with Luna and Brandon in her room at the birthday party. They had just left to go get drinks while it is still safe. **

**I think everyone knows how the party turns out. I'll leave you with that. **

Brandon and I weaved our way through the guests. There were already a lot of guests here. Some of them were already buzzed, their speech slightly slurred or their steps faltering. When we finally reached the bar I ordered a non alcoholic pina colada, Brandon ordered a coke.

"Alright, if we get separated go back to my room, but I want to try and go to the roof," I told Brandon. Brandon frowned while sipping from his coke can.

"Why the roof?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I dunno, no one knows how to get to the roof except me, and it's pretty up there," I explained.

Brandon nodded. We started weaving through the guests. After a few minutes I turned back to Brandon "Okay we're going to take the next- damn it!" I exclaimed. Brandon was nowhere to be found.

Cursing, I turned back so I could fight the ever growing crowd to get back to my room. I made it back, to find a couple on my bed. The man's shirt was halfway off, but luckily the woman still had her clothes on. "Hey!" I yelled, letting my door slam open, "Go find another fucking room!" Both broke apart, the man looking irritated and the woman looking embarrassed, rushed from the room.

I sat down hard on my bed, groaning at my messed up sheets. After about a half an hour I started texting and calling Brandon, but he wasn't answering, so I started walking around to try and find him. Another half an hour of awkward conversations and three spilled drinks later and I still hadn't found Brandon. Did he really ditch me at my birthday party?

The DJ's music was too loud, the headache that I had all but gotten rid of is now coming back, throbbing to the beat of the music. I was continually being shoved around by people, so much so that I had taken to moving them with my telekinesis rather than actually shoving past them. I turned into the main entertaining room when I saw something that caused someone's glass shatter. Natalie was standing with her back on Dad's chest, _with the Iron Man arm on._ Dad leaned down to whisper in her ear, and then the Iron Man ice sculpture next to me shattered. I flinched when a flying shard of ice cut my cheek. Oh. Hell. No.

"Is he serious?" A voice asked from behind me, stopping me from 'suiting up' and attacking the two of them. When I turned Pepper gasped, "oh my god your-"

"I know," I interrupted angrily, "You need to go talk to him, otherwise I might actually punch him," I told Pepper. She swallowed hard, but nodded. "And try and get him to stop drinking please," I added as she walked away. She nodded again. As she stormed towards Dad I turned in the opposite direction to go to my room. I made it there, and was surprised to see Brandon sitting on my bed. "Where have you been?" I asked coldly. I didn't mean to, but I was already in such a bad mood that I couldn't help it. He gaped at me as I passed him to get to my bathroom. I reached under the sink, grabbing the first aid kit that Pepper had given me a few months ago. In case no one was around and I needed help, she had said.

"What happened to you?" Brandon asked worriedly. I rolled my eyes, the cut wasn't deep, it was just bleeding a fair amount.

"Ice sculpture exploded," I replied shortly, cursing as I applied some antiseptic to the cut after I cleaned away the blood. I put a band-aid on it, putting away the first aid kit quickly.

"Holy shit you do that quickly," Brandon commented, looking at me in amazement.

I cringed, I did do that pretty quickly for someone who has no reason to be injured very often. "My dad_ is_ Iron Man," I told him quickly, hoping that he would buy it.

"Oh yeah, that's true," he replied following me back into my room. I was about to ask him what happened to him to make him disappear for an hour, but was interrupted by a crash.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed, knowing that that had to be Dad. Brandon looked alarmed, but I silenced him with a look, going into my closet so I could grab more comfortable clothes, and pulling out my phone.

"Happy?" I asked the moment the phone stopped ringing.

"What's up Luna, is something wrong?" Happy asked worriedly.

Ignoring his question I continued on grabbing a pair of jeans and a hoodie, "Where are you right now?"

"By the gate making sure that nobody gets in who isn't supposed to, Luna is something wrong?" Happy asked urgently.

I walked in to my bathroom and began to change out of the tight, uncomfortable dress, "Listen, last time I saw him Dad was kind of tipsy, and he's probably extremely drunk right now, and he sounds like he's got some of the suit on. I need you to come to my room and get Brandon out of here so I can suit up and take care of my dad," I explained to Happy carefully.

"I think I should probably-"

"Happy with all due respect you're no match for the suit, just get Brandon out of here, I don't care if you have to carry him out, and convince as many people as you can to go too, please," I added as an afterthought.

"Do you think that this is going to lead to violence, Ms. Stark?" Happy asked, but I could tell he was rushing into the house.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry," I replied to Happy grimly. I finished changing, slipping my feet into a pair of sneakers, and left the bathroom. Honestly I wanted Happy to get Brandon out because I didn't want him to see my dad black out drunk and if for whatever reason Dad decided to get violent, not that I had ever known him to be a violent drunk, I didn't want Brandon to get hurt in the process.

There was another crash, I flinched and so did Brandon. "Shouldn't we do something about that?" he asked., seeming worried.

"Already did," I replied, preoccupied with putting my dress away. I didn't mention that Happy would be forcing him to leave. I knew that Brandon wouldn't like it, but I _need_ Brandon to be safe. I don't want Brandon to get caught in the cross fire if there is going to be any.

"So then what are we going to do?" Brandon questioned, looking nervous. It is odd to see someone nervous, to know that they are nervous. Brandon is probably nervous because of what a drunk man in an Iron Man suit is capable of. In fact, since my room is directly above the entertaining room that the majority of the guests are in, I'm surprised that a hole hasn't been blown in my floor yet honestly, but I know that I can't let Brandon know that. I don't want him to be afraid of my father. My father is a good man, just… lately he hasn't been acting like it. That's all. He wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, not without a good reason.

"He's just drunk, he's not going to do anything that could hurt anybody," I told him confidently, but what Brandon didn't know was I that added 'not on purpose anyway,' in my head.

Brandon shook his head, "Drunk people have caused a lot more damage without an Iron Man suit," Brandon replied bitterly, turning away to look out of the window at the open sea. I cringed, how could I forget about our conversation that had just happened an hour ago?

"Brandon I-"

"Alright kid, we need to leave," Happy interrupted as he opened my door. Brandon looked from me to him in confusion.

"Wha- no, I'm not going. Luna what is going on!" Brandon exclaimed as Happy wrestled with Brandon's arms so he could drag Brandon out. He looked so hurt, so betrayed, I felt a stab of sympathy and guilt.

"Brandon it's not like that. I need to know that you're safe, and you won't be if you are here," I told him, hoping- praying that he would understand.

"You'd have the same chance as me Luna, what can you do that I can't?" he asked before Happy shut the door on the two of us.

"A lot more than you think," I said under my breath.

I stood in the middle of my room for a few moments before asking JARVIS to transition my windows so no one would be able to see inside, then I began to encase myself in my suit.

**_KNOCK KNOCK! SLAM!_**

Someone had opened my door. Luckily enough for me my suit came out from my spine and encased me that way, so though all of my suit was visible from behind me, from the front, which was facing the door, nothing could be seen. That didn't stop me from jumping and slamming the door shut with my telekinesis from pure fright.

"Hey!" a feminine voice exclaimed from the other side of the door. I scrambled to my door quickly, I had seen the cherry red hair. If she is coming to me, this can't be good. I wrenched open the door, finding an angry looking Natalie, her forehead was pink, hair astray. I may have hit her in the face with the door. It was an accident but I am still proud of it.

"Hey," I replied, fighting to keep the smirk off of my face.

Natalie glared at me, "You need to get downstairs now. Pepper asked for me to find you, she couldn't manage to calm Mr. Stark down and she thinks that you may be able to do a better job," She explained coldly.

I glared at her for a few moments before giving in, "Fine, I'll take a whack at it," I told her begrudgingly, but what Natalie didn't know was that I actually meant I was going to take a whack at him.

Natalie and I walked down to the entertaining room to find Dad was shooting things that people threw up into the air. When I was showered in watermelon I was about to suit up accidentally, when I heard a metallic voice from behind me.

"I'm only going to say this once, get out," I spun around along with everyone else in the room. The Mark II stood in front of the stairs to the lab. Rhodey. It has to be Rhodey. It sounds kind of like Rhodey and Rhodey is the only one at this party except for me, Pepper, Happy, and Natalie who has access to the lab. Soon the whole room was empty except for Rhodey, Pepper, Dad, and I.

"Pepper, Luna, you too. Go," Rhodey ordered.

I was about to argue, but a strong, firm grip encased me upper arm. I got tugged to the side, and the person was practically dragging me out. Let's just say that after years of living on my own before being forced to go to an orphanage didn't leave me weak. In fact, I had to be strong. I had to fend for myself and that meant that with my powers I occasionally had to fight people. It would take someone strong to be able to forcibly drag me anywhere.

I glanced over at the person who had now gotten me to the front door. Pepper? "Pepper let me go!" I exclaimed, pulling my arm out of her grip. How had Pepper gotten so strong? Or was she always strong?

"Luna, you heard Rhodey, he said to leave!" she exclaimed, grabbing my arm yet again and pulling me to the car. I could hear noises of Dad and Rhodey fighting, and I wanted to stop them desperately.

"No!" I yelled, wrenching my arm out of her hands and pushing through the steadily growing crowd that was gathering around my home. I sprinted back into the house. Damn all of these glass windows! If it weren't for them I could have transformed already and stopped them!

People were still running out of the house, I ran near Natalie, finding it odd that she was still in the house. "Natalie!" Pepper yelled from behind me.

"Ms. Potts,"

"Oh don't you Miss Potts me, I'm on to you! You know what? Ever since you came here-"

She was interrupted by something crashing behind me. I yelped, whipping around to see Rhodey and my father rolling around on the ground, then standing up, fighting. "Luna!" Happy yelled, grabbing both me and Pepper, "Get out of here!" he yelled. He threw me over his shoulder while guiding Pepper out of the room.

"Hey!" I yelled, struggling to get out of Happy's grip. "Let me down, Happy! I can stop them!"

We were back in the crowd, Happy finally let me down, but as soon as he did so I ran off. "Luna!" I could hear him yell from somewhere behind me. I pushed past the party goers, trying my hardest to get back into the house. I have to stop them from fighting! They're going to destroy the house if they don't destroy each other first! Once I got to the front of the crowd I saw Dad standing there in the middle of the room just beyond the glass. What is he doing?

I stepped forward nervously, "Dad?" I asked. I have never felt scared of my father before, but now I kind of do.

"Aaaaaah!" he screamed. People around me yelled in fear, running away, I took a step back, looking at my father fearfully. He stood, watching me. People were still running away, otherwise I would have suited up, just in case.

From behind I saw Rhodey grab a bench, hitting my father over the head with it. Dad flew right into the fireplace, which ignited. "Dad!" I yelled. Even though I knew that he fixed the suit so it could safely withstand high temperatures it was still scary.

When I yelled, the glass in front of me shattered. Neither my father nor Rhodey noticed, in fact, they were facing each other, pointing their repulsors at each other. My powers are spiraling out of control, I realized fearfully. If I get too excited I could start the supernova effect, as I like to call it. I can't use my powers. It is too dangerous. If I do I could kill everyone in the vicinity.

"You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?" Dad asked Rhodey, jolting me back into reality.

"Put your hand down!"

"Take the shot!"

Realizing what they were about to do I gasped, running down the steps that would lead to the driveway. I knew how much damage one repulsor blast can do, but two together? We've never tested what it does, and I don't want to be around unarmored while they do it. Plus the headache that I had was building, if anything that happens upsets or excites me I could lose control and become a supernova. And that can't happen. I'm not ready, I'm not prepared. I don't even know what this new power could be, what if it turns out to be something dangerous. It could kill people. I ran as hard as I could, hearing the repulsors go off. I wasn't quick enough. I could see the white light heading towards me. I shut my eyes tightly, scared of what was going to happen.

The force of the blast lifted me off of my feet. I was twisting in the air, with no idea which way was up or down my arms flailed, hoping that I could grab something before I went over the stone railing that would send me over our small cliff and into the dark water below. Pain exploded over my back and the back of my skull. "oof" I grunted when I hit presumably the railing, falling hard onto the ground. Something embedded itself into my face, arms and neck, glass, maybe, from the windows that I hadn't broken yet. I opened my eyes once the ringing in my ears had died out. Immediately I wished that I hadn't. Everything was blurry, and even the slightest movement made my head hurt even more. Blackness danced across my vision, but I fought to stay conscious. I must have been on the edge of the blast. If I hadn't I probably would have died, that or sent right over the railing. Pain exploded all over my head, my brain to be specific. No. I can't have this happen. Not here. I fought with myself, writhing and gasping in pain, trying to control my powers. I could hear the stone flooring crack. I need to stop this. There's no telling how many people I can hurt! I clamped my hands over my head, yelling a cry of pain before my vision went black.

I woke up lying on the cold ground, feeling extremely sore and painful.

After lying for a few moments I tried moving my arms and legs. Nothing broken there. Using the railing for assistance I slowly got to my feet. The pain was already starting to fade slightly. I looked up at what was once the entertaining room. It looked like a bomb had gone off. "Dad," I gasped, though my voice wasn't much more than a whisper. Slowly and painfully I made my way up the stairs that I had been thrown down. The men were lying on the ground. Then, they both moaned. I sighed in relief. They're both alive at least.

Suddenly I felt disgusted. They could have killed someone. Deciding that I didn't want to be around when either of them got up I made my way to the driveway. All of the partygoers had left, thankfully.

"Oh my god!" a voice yelled.

Groaning, I turned. Pepper was running towards me, "Luna, oh my god are you okay?" she asked worriedly, looking me up and down.

"I'm fine Pepper," I sighed, "Can- can I sleep at your house tonight? I don't really want to be here right now," I admitted tiredly.

Pepper looked at me sadly, "Of course, Luna, come on," She replied, leading me to the car. I got into the passenger side, leaning my head tiredly against the window. I knew that Pepper was probably very worried, but I really didn't want to talk about how my father almost killed me. There is no way that Dad was so drunk to the point where he attacked his best friend. No way. Something else has to be going on. And I can't keep defending him now. Unless he wants to tell me why he acted the way that he did I won't defend him, I've been brushing off everything that he has been doing for too long now. If he thinks that I am going to forgive him easily he has another thing coming. He was reminding me too much of someone else. I need to stay away from him until I can get my head together…

"Luna, we're here," Pepper said, looking at me with worry written all over his face.

Groaning, I got out of the car, walking into her apartment. I'd been in here a few times. Pepper didn't really like leaving me home alone when Dad went out on trips, so she always had me over. I sat down at the little bar in her kitchen that Pepper used as a table to eat at.

"He's really gotten himself into a mess this time, huh Pepper?" I asked, using my forearms on the bar to keep me from collapsing.

"He has," Pepper replied, going into the bathroom, probably getting a first aid kit. She returned with the kit, along with a pair of tweezers.

"Thank you Pepper," I said sincerely. I honestly don't know what I would do without her, she was acting more and more as a parental figure towards me than a friend. And honestly, I liked it. I would be honored to call her my mother.

Pepper stood at the opposite side of the bar, and opened the kit. Then, she got out a pair of tweezers. "Ouch!" I exclaimed when she pulled something out of my face. I hadn't even noticed that it was stinging until now. Pepper dropped a small piece of bloody glass on a paper towel.

"Sorry," she apologized, but still looked determined, "but you can't go to sleep with all of this glass in you," I nodded, cringing with each piece of glass she pulled out.

When she was finished she got some antiseptic, and wiped my face with it gently. That stung. A lot. "Thank you Pepper," I thanked sincerely. She merely nodded.

"Can we talk in the morning?" I asked, "I feel like I'm ready to pass out," Pepper nodded. She gave me a pair of pajamas, I went to the spare room that I always slept in when I needed to stay over. I peeked in the mirror, cringing at what I saw. My back was a colorful combination of blue, black, and purple. Lovely. I changed into the new clothes carefully before collapsing on the bed, and promptly falling asleep.

**A/N Tony's gotten himself into a load of shit. I think by now we all know how Luna's personality is, so I think we can make an educated guess on what is to come. I shall give no spoilers.**

**Please review. Reviews really give me an idea of how you guys think, and I honestly love them so much. They inspire me to write better and makes writing this so much more enjoyable than it already is. **

**Lets play a game, shall we? First person to guess what Luna's new power is correctly will get their username in this story somehow, or if you give me a name that you want me to use in the story I'll name one of the characters with a name that you have given me. This will go through the duration of the story until we learn what her power is, and I'll let all of you know who won. I'll just drop the name in where I find a place to put it. Or, I could create a whole new character specifically for that name. It all depends. I'll tell you when the game is closed. Happy guessing. **

**Until next time!**


	12. Effects of Nearly Killing Your Daughter

**Thank you all for your continued support. It truly means a lot.**

**A/N I'm sorry. I meant to update sooner, I really did. **

Ugh. I felt like I had been hit by a train. I woke up, finding that I had fallen asleep on my stomach. I rolled over and immediately found out why, my back had erupted in pain. Yelping, I got up. There were already a pair of jeans along with a shirt and hoodie on the dresser. I smiled, looking at the time. 6:30. Pepper was probably getting ready for work. I groaned when I saw how gross my clothes were. They were covered in blood and dust. I threw them in the trash, deciding that I didn't need them anymore. Then, I got in the shower. It took a long time before the water wasn't brown. Once I finished I changed into the clothes that Pepper gave me. She was kind of taller than me, so the jeans didn't fit that well, but they weren't horribly big. I glanced in the mirror, cringing at what I saw, cuts crisscrossed my face, though they didn't look big enough to scar. I was sporting a black eye and a cut lip as well. No wonder Pepper reacted so badly to seeing me, I looked like death.

When I looked at my phone I saw that I had two missed calls from Rhodey. But none from Dad. Honestly I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted him to call. I wanted him to explain, but how is anything that he did explainable?

It was then that I knew what I want to do. I'm going to go home, get some clothes, and stay in a hotel for a little while. I just need to calm down and be away from him, and I don't want to take advantage of Pepper's hospitality.

I got up decisively, and walked into the kitchen. Pepper was standing at the bar with a coffee in hand, almost ready to go. "Morning," she said, still looking at me worriedly.

"Morning," I replied groggily. Pepper passed me a coffee and a bagel, which I accepted gratefully.

"So, what are you doing today?" She asked.

"I'm going to go back to the house and get some clothes and money, then I'm going to stay in a hotel for a bit," I replied, nervous for Pepper's reply.

"No, please stay here, Luna, you're welcome here for as long as you have to be," she argued. She seems upset that I want to go away. My heart swelled. Someone cares.

"I just feel like I'm intruding," I admitted. I just need to hear her say it. I need to hear it. I need to know right now that she means it.

Pepper shook her head, "No, no you're not. I want you to stay here."

My heart swelled, and, acting on impulse, I hugged Pepper tightly, "Pepper," I said, hoping that she wouldn't be weirded out by what I was about to say, "I know this might sound weird, but I really just want to thank you for everything. I've never really been looked after by an adult, and you always do. You don't have to, I'm not your kid, but you do. This is probably very inappropriate of me to ask, but if child services take me away, can you adopt me? Please? It's just, I've never seen anyone like I see you. You're the closest thing that I have to a mother, I see you as a mother figure actually. I just really can't go back to the orphanage. I can't do it, and you're the only person I want to stay with," I gushed truthfully. I need her to know how much she really means to me.

Pepper hugged me even tighter, "Of course Luna, I know. If anything happens I promise to adopt you, I've always thought of you as a daughter, and I would love nothing more than to make it official," She told me, backing away to look me in the eyes. She looked so sincere, I knew that she meant every word of what she said.

"It's just… when Dad adopted me I finally had a home. And then when he got used to the idea of me being around I finally had a parent. And now… I just… I feel like he doesn't want to be my parent. He doesn't act like one anymore… not like he used to and I just… I don't feel like I can trust him anymore…" I admitted, stubbornly wiping away the tears that fell down my face. I'd been feeling like this for a while, but last night was the final straw. All of the lying, the recklessness, and the general uncaring attitude he had made me feel like I couldn't count on him. It sucks. I finally had a parent but he isn't acting like one now. How can I stay with him if he doesn't act like a parent. I shouldn't have to act like his parent, he should be looking out for me. Right?

Pepper was looking at me sadly, "Well, how about this, I need to get to work because there is probably a big mess waiting for me to clean it up from last night, so I'll drive you to the mansion, you can get all of your stuff and then get a taxi back, or do whatever you want until I get back from work, then once I'm done we can go out for ice cream or something, whatever you want. Then, you can come with me to New York for the Stark Expo, how does that sound?"

I nodded, "That sounds great, thank you so much! I just need some space from him to get my head together then I'll figure out what I'll do from there. Hopefully last night will have knocked some sense into my father, but I just can't be around him right now, I might just send him through a wall," I explained. Pepper nodded sympathetically, leading the way out of the house. The whole car ride to the house was silent. I felt bad, the house was extremely out of the way from Stark Industries, if I had thought of that earlier I would have refused the ride from Pepper, but it was too late now. Plus when Pepper gets to work she'll undoubtedly have a lot waiting for her. She'll probably have to deal with videos of the party leaked to the media, which will hurt the company's image, then there's the problem concerning Rhodey having the Mark II. Since he essentially stole Stark property Pepper will have to talk to lawyers about suing for the stolen property.

"Rhodey called this morning," Pepper said out of nowhere. We were about five minutes from the house, so I knew it wasn't going to be a long discussion.

"Yeah, he called me a few times last night too," I replied neutrally, staring out the window.

"He wanted to know how you were doing, he assumed that you would be staying with me," Pepper explained.

I took a deep breath, am I really that predicable? "What did you tell him?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"I told him the truth, that you were very upset that he and your father nearly killed you," She replied, seeming grim, "He apologized, but he said he won't be giving the suit back, so I'm going to have to call up the lawyers," She explained.

I briefly entertained the idea of going to the military base and stealing the suit back, but I knew I wouldn't for a few reasons. That base was fairly well protected, and I wasn't about to put myself at that kind of risk, especially because I wasn't even sure if the suit was there. Then if I did go and get the suit back Iron Maiden would be considered a traitor, probably, and then I would be hunted down by the government for the suit. There's also the possibility that I could excite my powers so much in my attempt to get the suit back that I could trigger the supernova effect, and then the government would think that I was suicide bombing, which would place Stark Industries in an even bigger problem than it was before. The final, more stubborn reason was that I really don't want to get my father's suit back after what he did last night I really don't feel that he deserves my help.

We pulled up at the destroyed gate of the mansion. Pepper pulled over, I thanked her profusely, refusing the money that she offered for the taxi. I watched her pull away for a few moments before I gained the courage to walk into the house. It isn't that I am afraid of the house, I'm afraid that I'll meet my father. Though, if his drunkenness was any indication of when he should be waking up by himself, I probably have a few more hours until I have to worry about him. I cringed at the sight of the destroyed house, I didn't think it would affect me, but for some strange reason it did. It actually made my chest tighten. How is it that I could walk up to Metue Mihis and not be afraid of them, actually smiling as I was fighting them, but the sight of a demolished house, my demolished house, cause me to stop where I stand?

I took a deep breath before stepping though the doorway, taking care not to make too much noise. I knew somewhere in my mind that it probably didn't matter how much noise I was making, especially when JARVIS didn't greet me when I stepped inside, but even so I made sure to walk as quietly as possible. My fear was immediately replaced once I saw the extent of the damage of the house. Glass and rubble littered the floor, two walls had holes in them, one leading to the exercise room. The stairs were littered with glass. When I saw my room I actually caused the light fixture in the hallway to explode. My room hadn't been excluded in the fight last night. There was a large hole in the middle of my floor, plenty wide for two people to go crashing through it. They must have landed on my bed at some point, because pieces of it littered the floor. I was glad I made Happy get Brandon out of the house. I grabbed a large duffel bag, shoving everything that I would need for a few days into it. Once that was finished I found my purse, which contained my wallet.

When I was halfway out of the house I decided that I wanted to drive to Pepper's house. I was almost ready for my license anyway, no one is going to pull me over.

The stairs leading to the lab were destroyed, and once I made it to the bottom of them I wished that I hadn't wanted to drive my car. Far away in the back of the lab I saw Dad watching videos of Howard, his father. If anything that only made my anger even worse. Why in the hell was he sitting here watching old videos? Why isn't he calling Pepper or me or even Rhodey, hell, even Happy deserves an explanation. He could have gotten injured too. How can he just sit here after all of the things that he did!

I paused in front of the glass door. I could barge in there and take my car and leave, or I could go back upstairs and take a cab. One would definitely make me talk to my father, and one would let me leave in peace.

My anger won out of everything, if I didn't manage to sneak out without gaining my father's attention at least I could give him a piece of my mind and tell him what he needed to hear and what I need to say.

Taking a deep breath I punched in my code for the door. As expected my father's head whipped around to see who was coming in. my anger spiked. I knew that I couldn't talk to him, I might explode, quite literally. I walked as quickly as I could, grabbing my keys off of the ring, then rushing to the car. Out of the corner I could see him leap off of his chair, rushing to me. I opened the trunk of my car, chucking the duffle bag into it.

"Luna," Dad said desperately.

I ignored him, opening my door roughly.

"Please just let me explain," He pleaded, standing by the hood of my car.

That's it, that's all it took for me to stop. I slammed my door shut, stomping to the front of the car. "Explain! Explain what? How is any of that explainable? You want to explain how you attacked your best friend and destroyed our house? No! You don't get to explain! You want to say you're sorry and make up yet another shitty ass excuse? No!" I yelled with surprising fury. Even I was surprised by what I was saying because I have never spoken to my father this way, it was evident that he was surprised too, because shock was etched throughout his every feature, he had even taken a step back.

Even though I was shocked by what I was saying, I wasn't finished, "You do realize that you destroyed this house? You do realize that Pepper and Natalie _begged_ you to stop before it was too late. Are you aware of the fact that you put the lives of everyone in this house in jeopardy? That you put _my_ life on the line too? How about when you and Rhodey were fighting in the entertaining room? Did you even notice me there? Huh? Did you hear me yelling for you to stop? If I hadn't moved I would have been dead, Dad. _Dead_. How would you have felt in the morning when you found out you were responsible for the death of your daughter? Or am I even your daughter anymore? Because the way you have been acting doesn't _fucking _seem like it!" I yelled. The windows of my McLaren shattered, and sounds coming from it indicated that I had fried the electronics inside of it. Great. _Just fucking great, one more god damned thing for me to fix_.

I didn't even bother looking at my McLaren, and instead of watching my shell shocked father's face drain of the remaining color it had, I turned and lifted the back of my shirt to show him the colorful bruises that decorated my back. I forced out a bitter laugh, "It was really thoughtful of you to replace the rods in my bones, I guess you were right, I did need better protection. Without them I might have been paralyzed or even dead. I bet you didn't know that I would need protecting from you," I said bitterly. When I turned around I knew what I said had an impact. He needs to hear this. If I don't tell him no one will.

"Luna… I'm so sorry," he apologized, I could hear the sincerity in his voice, but it wasn't enough.

"I know you are, but that doesn't fix anything."

"We can fix the house, we can fix ev-" He said quickly, mistaking what I meant.

"I don't care about the house, Dad!" I exclaimed, taking a step forward, a light bulb above of lit up, humming before it exploded, "When are you going to learn? I could care less about the house! I care about you lying to me! Being reckless, you've been acting irresponsibly for too long, this is just the final straw! I can't live like this! I can't even try and help you because you won't let me in!" I exclaimed.

Dad looked away, looking as if he was having an internal fight with himself, but unfortunately enough for him, I wasn't about to wait for him to find out what he was going to do.

I took a deep breath, trying to relieve the pressure building in my head. I can't blow up, not here, "You know what, Dad, if you still can't tell me, I'm done. I'm staying with Pepper, I'm going to New York with her, and then I'll figure out what I'm doing from there. I'll see what college I'm going to and then that will be it," I told him.

Dad's eyes flashed with concern, "No, please don't. Just stay, please," he begged, stepping closer, then pulling something from his pocket, "This came this morning."

Not wanting to be closer to him, I used my telekinesis to take it, and then opened it. Inside was a letter addressed to me. I was accepted to MIT. I didn't know what to feel. I dropped the letter. Dad took this as an acceptance of my staying, and walked closer, picking up the letter. He stepped even closer, moving in for a hug.

I stepped back, pulling open my door, "No. I can't I-I need to go," I said shakily, I made it into MIT. I did it. My anger towards my father subsided slightly, but even with the shock of my acceptance letter to the college of my dreams, I couldn't be deterred.

"At least let me drive you, you don't have your license yet," Dad pleaded, his final plea. He held my door, preventing me from shutting it. I bit my lip. I knew that my father regretted all of the drinking that he did, but that didn't make it okay.

"No, I'm driving by myself," I interrupted.

"Luna, I know that this doesn't make up for it, but I did this because I am-"

"God damn it, Dad!" I yelled, my rage hitting its peak yet again, "Don't you get it? I'm done! I don't want any excuses! Do you have any idea of the shit that Pepper is going through at work for the stuff that you pulled? No of course not. You're Iron Man, you don't have any responsibilities," I said coldly, using my telekinesis to push him back. I slammed the door shut, and before he could stop me, I peeled out of the lab.

**Short chapter for short tempers. **

**Please review. Reviews really make my day and help me write better. Thank you all for everything. **

**Until next time.**


	13. When the Times Get Tough the Tough Gets

**A/N Hello all, thank you for your continued support of this story. **

**I have a lot of excuses as to why this chapter is going out so late , but I know no one is interested in hearing them, so I will just skip to the story. **

**Disclaimer: I only own my lovely OC Luna Stark.**

I had to pull over on the road. I couldn't do it, the tears were threatening to spill on to my cheeks and I couldn't see the road. My phone rang, and I was about to check it when there was a knock on my passenger side window. Startled, I jumped back, looking at the man standing next to the car. Oh… a strawberry stand… of all places to pull over I pulled over at a strawberry stand. Sighing and wiping at my eyes, I rolled down the window.

"Do you want strawberries?" The man asked.

"Uh… sure why not? But can I ask you a question first?" I asked,.

The man stopped, looking at me, "Sure," He said although he looked nervous.

"What do you do when you just had a fight with basically your only family member and you might have just ruined your relationship forever?" I asked, biting my lip to keep the tears from coming.

The man seemed to soften, "I would let everything settle down and then apologize," The man said.

"But what if the person you're fighting with did something to you first?" I asked, suddenly feeling guilty.

The man seemed to think for a moment, "Well, I've never been in a situation where I haven't been part of the problem, but I would still try to make up with them. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially a family member," The man said.

I wanted to argue with him. Dad was given too many chances. He screwed up, now he can pay the consequences. "Thank you, can I have some strawberries?"

The man got me a carton of strawberries, I gave him a one hundred dollar bill and told him to keep the change. And as I drove away I could have sworn that I saw a familiar car in my rearview mirror.

Latter that day, the day before Pepper and I were going to New York Pepper informed me that I could take a friend with me, partly so I wouldn't be as bored, and so I would have someone to keep me entertained while Pepper worked. Then instead of going to the Expo we could explore New York.

When Pepper told me that I could bring someone to New York I knew who I had to bring. Even though it was only a few days after the party Brandon was already talking to me again. At first he was hurt that I had had him escorted from the house, but once he heard of all the damage to the house he understood, even though he was still upset. He mostly didn't understand why I didn't leave too, but after I explained to him that it was because I had to at least try to stop my Dad he understood.

I clicked his caller ID so I could ask him to come with us. He picked up after the phone rang a few times, "Hey Luna, what's up?" He questioned.

"Hi, are you doing anything this weekend, Pepper and I are going to New York again for the Expo and I was wondering if you would want to come with us?" I asked. I felt pretty confident, Brandon always said that he would come anywhere with me if I wanted him to. Apparently that was a normal thing for people at this school to do.

"Oh… Uh, I'm really sorry Luna, I'm actually kind of already in New York, my family went on vacation, we have a vacation house here, I thought I told you," Brandon apologized, "I can meet you down here though, I don't think my parents will mind if I leave for a few hours," Brandon compromised.

I'll admit that I was a little sad that he couldn't ride in the jet with us to New York, but at least I can meet him there. As much as I love Pepper I don't think I could handle waiting around at the Expo all day.

"That sounds fine, I'll let you know when I land," I told Brandon, happy that I could have at least one friend in New York.

"Yeah, that sounds great, listen, we're about to eat dinner, so I need to go, but I'll talk to you later?" He asked.

"Sure, sounds good," I replied, smiling,

Even though if I was asked I would deny it, I can't help but admit that I was starting to get feelings for Brandon. He was just… so nice to me. We always got along, more or less, and he always made me laugh. Maybe I should tell him my big secret…

"Luna, I'm home!" A voice called from the front door, I got to my feet to meet Pepper. Pepper looked exhausted, she had already taken off her jacket, hanging it in the closet by the door, the heels were already neatly put away on her shoe rack.

"Hi," I smiled, "I made some pasta, I hope you don't mind. I got hungry," I admitted sheepishly.

"You ate without me?" Pepper asked incredulously, though her tone was joking.

"It's nine at night! You're lucky I didn't just order in!" I exclaimed with a huge grin on my face.

Pepper smiled, but then her expression grew serious, "So, your Dad came to the office today," She stated casually.

"Oh yeah? Why?" I asked begrudgingly. Even after the advice that the strawberry man I still wasn't quite ready to forgive him. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt betrayed in a way, and I couldn't make myself forgive him. I am just not ready.

"Uh, well at first he said he was going to apologize, but I didn't really give him a chance because he wasn't explaining fast enough, and he was just talking about himself, I didn't want to listen to it honestly. And he brought me strawberries! The one thing in the world that I am allergic to and he gets it! I swear it's like he doesn't pay attention at all!"She exclaimed angrily.

I slowly edged into the fridge while Pepper filled a bowl with the pasta that I cooked, when I was sure she wasn't looking I threw the box of strawberries in the trash.

"Well, I'm not ready to hear what he has to say either, so don't feel too bad. I think that he has to understand what he did for a little while and then come to us. I just can't stand to think that this could happen _again_. I want him to know that we are serious and that it can't happen again. I want him to actually be _sorry_, and then I will listen to him apologize," I explained to Pepper. That's how I felt on the subject. I had no sympathy for what Dad did, he did what he did knowing full well what the consequences would be. He knew who it would affect, and yet he did it anyway. If anything I think he deserves to feel bad for what he did for about a week or two before he could even try to get back into Pepper's or my life. If he comes at some point and sounds truly sorry for what he did, if he sounds like a changed man, ready to start on a new leaf, only then will I forgive him.

My phone buzzed. I knew it wasn't my father because I blocked him. I know that that is kind of harsh, but I can't deal with it right now. It's hard enough for me to go through my life without a father, but it's even harder to have an immature one. I just want a dad that is willing to protect me, to be there for me, to be my family. I know that families are supposed to look out for each other, but at this moment I feel as if I am the parent who is looking after him, and that shouldn't be how it is. I just wanted to be a kid for once in my life. That's all I ever wanted.

The text was from Jaime. 'Have you heard from Brandon lately? He hasn't talked to me for two days.'

"Do you mind if I step out?" I asked Pepper, "I need to call a friend," I explained.

Pepper, whose mouth was full of food, nodded, waving me away. It was nice to see Pepper like this. Whenever she was with Dad and I she was relaxed, but she was always working, more or less. It was good, for me at least, to see that she wasn't constantly stressed out, and sometimes she just went home and pigged out on food because she is hungry. I don't think that I had ever seen Pepper eat a full meal when she was working, and it is nice to see that at home she does take a few minutes to take care of herself. But, unfortunately, I can already see the wear that the company was starting to take on her body. Hopefully it isn't permanent. Hopefully she can get into the swing of things and learn to balance her own personal needs with work. I know Pepper, she could work herself into the ground and not care about it at all as long as her work is finished.

"You okay, Luna?" Pepper asked, looking at me with worry. It was then that I realized that I hadn't moved for a full minute.

"Oh, yeah, just uh, thinking you know? Big day tomorrow," I brushed her off awkwardly. I know that Pepper hates when people worry about her, but I can't help it.

She smiled at me as I walked into what has become my bedroom. I flopped back onto my bed before I called Jaime. She picked up on the third ring, "Hey Luna, is something wrong with Brandon?" She asked, sounding worried.

"No, no, he's fine, I just talked to him a few minutes ago, he sounded fine, has he been ignoring you?" I asked. From what I knew Brandon and Jaime were really close, I thought that they knew everything about each other.

"Oh," Jaime said awkwardly, "Do you know where he is? It isn't like him to leave and not tell anyone about it," She explained, sounding as if she wanted to add 'especially me.'

"He's with his family, they're on vacation in New York, in their vacation home there," I told her, feeling awkward. Was there ever anything between them?

"No, that's not right. Brandon has never been to New York. Are you sure he said that?" She asked, sounding extremely confused.

"Maybe they just bought one? Has he been talking about New York at all?" I asked, equally confused. Something about this just didn't add up, Brandon never did anything like this. He is always reliable, maybe something happened that he was embarrassed about?

"No, not that I know of, I know his sister goes to school in New York, but he hasn't talked about visiting her. He always used to talk about the big companies in New York and how many opportunities that are there, but he stopped a week or two ago, so that can't be it," Jaime explained.

'Hmmm," I hummed to myself, "Maybe something happened and they had to visit his sister, maybe he said vacation on mistake? I can try and call him to see if everything is okay," I offered, still thinking.

"Can you please? I'm worried about him, we're only cousins, but after everything that has happened to him I feel protective of him, you know?" She asked. If I didn't know her I wouldn't have been able to tell that she was nervous. For whatever reason, I felt a huge sense of relief and a surge of happiness when she mentioned that they are cousins. I know why I feel that way. You like him, Luna. You like him. But you can't like him. You are friends. You could ruin everything. You can't like him _that way_.

"Yeah, yeah of course, I'll do that right now and let you know afterwards," I told her, brushing away my thoughts. I'll deal with those later.

"That would be great, just let me know. Please," She said before the line went dead.

Leaning up against my headboard, I searched through my contacts until I reached 'Brandon'. The phone rang six times before he picked up. "Hey, is something wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"Oh, I was just- that's not important, is something wrong? I was talking to Jaime and she said that you haven't been answering her calls, and then she said that you don't have a house in New York-and- well, we're worried," I finished sheepishly. It all seemed foolish now.

Brandon laughed, "Nothing is wrong, my mom and sister are starting to do that record deal that I told you about, but it's all really hush, hush right now. They don't want anything getting leaked and they made me promise not to tell anyone. As for Jaime, I haven't received any texts from her, maybe she texted the wrong person? I wouldn't ignore her, not purposely anyway," Brandon added.

"Oh sorry to bother you then," I apologized, embarrassed, I actually felt my cheeks becoming pink, "I'll let you go then, we're still good for tomorrow, right?" I asked hopefully, I felt bad that I doubted him, but I was more worried than anything. If Jaime doesn't know what he was doing that usually means something bad is happening.

"We're good," He answered, I could practically hear the smile in his voice, "I'm glad to know that you girls worry about me," He added, teasing.

"We all have to do something," I joked with a smile before hanging up.

There was a knock on my door. "Come in Pepper," I said, sitting up on my bed.

"I know that it's late, but ice cream is still on if you want to, I know this really good place that stays open late. It's just down the street," Pepper offered.

Ice cream. The best comfort food. Smiling, I stood up and started putting on my shoes, "Yeah, can we leave now? I'll drive," I offered.

Pepper smiled, "You're driving me? You are getting so grown up. Yeah, which car do you want, mine or yours?" She asked, walking to the door.

"I'll drive mine. You're just going to have to direct me, I have no clue where I'm going," I warned her, taking my keys from the counter. She turned and smiled at me, her hand on the doorknob.

"Of course, I'll warn you though, no speeding with me. You're going to go the speed limit, not a mile above," She told me.

"You're no fun!" I joked, following Pepper out the door, unlocking my car once we got to it.

"I'm practical," She retorted, grinning as she sat down in the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt.

"Come on, Pepper, live a little! If you go through life never doing anything then did you really live?" I asked, but my tone was light and joking.

"If I live the way you and your father live I don't think I will live very long. I have terrible luck," Pepper laughed. I finished fixing my mirrors, put the car in drive, and pulled out of the driveway.

"Luck has nothing to do with what I do. I'm just awesome," I boasted playfully.

"Luna, you're going forty," Pepper warned.

"Ugh, Pepper you're a grandma," I complained, tapping the brakes lightly to slow down.

"You've got a lead foot just like your father!" She fought, laughing.

"Actually I have a gold-titanium alloy foot," I corrected. Pepper and I both burst out laughing.

"T-take the left," She gasped between giggles. I turned on my blinker, moving towards the middle of the lane, and once the cars moved past I pulled into the ice cream shop, parking between two cars.

"Nice job," Pepper praised once I turned the keys.

"I told you, I'm amazing," I bragged with a smirk, hopping out of the car.

Pepper laughed, shaking her head as she followed me to the counter. After Pepper and I spent a good amount of time searching the menu, Pepper walked away with a moose tracks ice cream in a waffle cone, and I got a cookie dough in a cup.

We both sat down at a table under an umbrella, even though it isn't raining and it is about eleven at night, so there isn't any sun. we ate for a few moments in silence, I looked up to see that Pepper is frowning at me. "What?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her, immediately wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Most kids like cones," Pepper shrugged, "I always did when I was your age."

"Cones are messy," I explained, grinning as some of Pepper's ice cream dripped down the side of her cone onto her hand, proving my point, "And the cone gets all soggy and gross and I just-" I made a noise of disgust. Pepper laughed, shaking her head.

We quieted down again, I paused, wishing that I had gotten a water with my ice cream. A few more moments passed before I asked Pepper something impulsively, "Do you think he actually means it this time?"

"Who?"

"Dad. Do you think he actually meant it when he said he was sorry this time?" I asked, looking her straight in the eye. I don't want her to feel bad for me and lie to make me feel better. I want the truth.

Pepper stared at me for a few moments, I can practically see her thinking, finally she shook her head, "I don't know, Luna."

**A/N Cute Luna and basically all of the characters. I'm laying out some groundwork for the next chapter, so be ready!**

**To ****xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx- Thank you so much! You honestly have no idea how much that means to me. Most people here just say that you did well, which is awesome, don't get me wrong, but to hear specifically what I did right is actually so awesome. I absolutely love reviews like this. You made my whole day. I literally went around smiling like an idiot all day at school.**

**To socialnetwork1- I went back into this chapter and inserted a lot more Pepper for you. I apologize about my lack of Potts, but I am unsure of how to write her, and I definitely want to do her justice. Also, Tony and Luna have a lot more in common than Luna and Pepper do, so I am struggling to come up with more dialogue for them, but I will put more of an effort in to write her for you guys! I think I am going to do some reading with her in it to see how she interacts with other characters to give me a better way of writing her. I absolutely love Pepper, but she is just one of those characters that I am afraid to touch for fear of messing her up. I will work on it though!**

**That's it from me, folks. Another update sooner, I promise! Please review! I love reviews and they help me get a sense of what you as the readers want. I do put in an effort to make this story more enjoyable for you guys, because without you all I am certain that this story would not have developed into what it is now. I just want to thank you all again. You make this so much more fun for me. **

**Until next time!**


	14. What Happened Before the Expo

**A/N As always I would like to thank those of you who read and review. **

**We're getting into the hot and heavy stuff, folks. I suspect there to be one or two chapters left, maybe three. That being said, I won't keep you waiting, lets get to the story!**

**Disclaimer: Luna is the only thing that is mine. Literally everything else is owned by other people (except for Brandon).**

It was early morning when I was awoken by a soft shake on the shoulder, followed by a gasp. I shot straight up from my previous lying position, to see Pepper a few steps away from the bed with her hand over her chest, breathing heavily. "Yo- you need to stop exploding lights when you get scared, its… alarming," Pepper gasped between breaths. I groaned, throwing myself back on to my bed.

"How early is it?" I whined, my hands over my eyes to block out the remaining light that leaked into the room from the hallway. I didn't have the energy to worry about what I just did. It'll come no matter how much I prepare for it. I can't stop my own self destruction, if anything recent events only prove that. All I have to do is wait.

"Two thirty, now come on! The jet leaves at five, we have to leave soon if we want to make it! She urged.

Two and a half hours later I walked on to our jet, just as groggy as I was hours before. Happy chuckled when he grabbed my bag for me. "Happy… how are you happy all the time?" I asked sleepily.

"How do you think I got the name, kid?" He asked, chuckling again.

I rolled my eyes before climbing up the stairs to the jet. It sure is strange walking on here without my dad. He was always at least semi-upbeat. Otherwise he would crack annoyed jokes, somehow keeping my entertained. This felt… empty almost. Like something is missing. Do I really miss him, after all that he has done, do I really miss him?

By the time we got in New York it was eleven, meaning Pepper had only eight hours to prepare for the Expo show tonight. Surprisingly that isn't a lot of time. Once we got to Stark Tower Pepper dropped me off, telling me to text her periodically, and to tell her when I am going out with Brandon. Then I was left by myself.

The building pressure in my head is actually pretty worrying. It wasn't happening fast, in fact, I only have a slight headache, but that's not good. The last time I started getting this feeling was when I was fighting, under a massive amount of stress and pressure. Now I'm not doing anything. I hope that it will go away, as it has been, but I probably should be worrying about this more. Oh well. It can't be that bad can it?

A few hours later I received a text. 'Meet in Times Square? –Brandon'

I bit my lip. Pepper told me that she didn't want me going into crowded areas without protection because of the whole Monaco fiasco, but frankly, I don't see the problem. I _am _Iron Maiden. Any mugger or kidnapper who wants to get me is going to have a problem. Pepper doesn't have to know.

I unlocked my phone, and typed out a short reply to Brandon 'Sure thing, I'll be there in twenty, meet in front of the Coca-cola sign?'

'See you there –Brandon'

Instead of walking to Times Square I formed my armor around my body, stepped out on to the balcony, and took off. This made my supposed twenty minute trip only three minutes, but it did take ten more minutes to find a place that was hidden enough so that I wouldn't reveal my secret to the pedestrians and tourists. I rushed to our meeting place, but found that I had to stop and look at everything. Did I forget to mention that I have never been to Times Square? The last time we came we didn't have time to come. I stopped in awe, taking out my camera to take a picture, I know, how cliché. But I just felt like I had to, everything just looked amazing. It was still light out, so the lights didn't look as impressive, but everything was still beautiful. The sounds of people everywhere just added to the experience. I walked around in awe at all of the buildings, lights, and the sheer amount of people. It is actually kind of mind boggling that everyone who is here in Times Square for the first time, like me, probably feel the same way that I do, and then there are people that live here who don't even find it that impressive anymore. It's weird how someone can actually get used to this, but then it has only been a few months and I am already semi accustomed to living in a mansion.

I took a deep breath, gently pushing past all of the people who were strolling around, drinking in their surroundings as I was doing only moments ago. When I finally made it to the Coke sign I saw Brandon standing underneath it, waiting for me.

"You made it!" He exclaimed, walking to give me a hug. It was a friendly sort of 'I missed you' hug. I lingered just a moment longer than I should have, but if Brandon noticed he didn't seem to mind. "I was worried that you might have gotten lost," He admitted as he started walking towards Broadway.

I kept up with him easily. People were already starting to push and shove, but for once in my life I didn't mind. There was a hum in the air from all of the people all talking at once, but it was actually comforting, to know that so many people could be in the same place and not have utter chaos ensue. "Come on, do you really have that little faith in me?" I asked playfully.

"You never know, New York is a tricky place, I love the getup, by the way," He teased, tugging at my beanie.

I knew if I was recognized we will be swarmed by people, so before I left I dressed as conspicuously as possible. That meant loose jeans, a sweatshirt, a beanie, sunglasses, even though it is late in the afternoon and sunglasses aren't really necessary at this point, even if the sun is still out, and a beanie. I laughed, "Well, unless you would like to be mobbed in possibly the most crowded part of New York, I would suggest you keep the beanie on," I told him seriously. If anyone recognizes me it is guaranteed that we are mobbed. Then I'll have to call Pepper for help and I will get in trouble, which I don't want to happen.

"Do you want to go to Central Park? It is really beautiful there," Brandon asked, running quickly to cross the street before a taxi came.

"Sure, I'm only going to be here for a little while, so I might as well see everything I can," I replied easily. I have heard about the park, it seemed like it is really fun, so I'm down to try. By the time it was starting to get darker we had reached the park. "How about we take one of those bike ride things through the park? My treat," Brandon offered, gesturing towards a man who was impatiently waiting for me to decide whether or not I wanted a ride.

I shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

We both got into the back part of the bike cab. It was a little tight, but it was fun. We rode past roller bladders and tourists, the man who was pedaling in front of us telling us a fact about the park occasionally as we rode. "Wow, this park is huge," I commented. I knew that the park was big, but it didn't seem _this _big. So far the ride has been fun, especially watching mothers jogging with their babies in strollers, and people walking their dogs who either had their noses high in the air or down on the ground, sniffing merrily.

"It would be awesome to live here full time, your sister is really lucky that she goes to school here," I commented. If I somehow didn't make it into MIT I probably would have looked into colleges here. The atmosphere is so great, it just feels like everything is alive, happy even. I guess that's why they call New York City the city that never sleeps. Ever since what happened at the party I have been feeling pretty depressed and angry, so to have some time where I just felt happy. It's great that I can feel like I don't have any responsibilities, even for a little while.

Just out of the corner of my eye I could see Brandon's mouth twitch into a frown, "I wouldn't stay here, there are so many felons that live here, plus you would never be given a break from all of the people. I guess I'm not really a crowded city person," He admitted, looking off into the distance.

"There are a lot of felons in California too though, I guess I don't really worry about it because of the suit, my dad's that it," I corrected myself quickly. I looked out the corner of my eye at Brandon to see if he noticed my little slip up, but if he noticed he didn't show it. I held my breath.

"I wouldn't worry about it either I guess, but you have to remember that your father isn't always going to be around to protect you," Brandon said seriously. Even though I know that I can protect myself the statement still sent chills down my spine. I looked over at Brandon, and saw that he was looking away from me. His posture had changed, he seemed… tense almost.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" I asked worriedly. Brandon shook his head, turning to look at me. He looked passive, now utterly relaxed looking. What?

"I'm fine, I just got a little cold, the sun is starting to go down," He mentioned offhandedly. The bike driver stopped, turning to look at us.

"We've gone everywhere in the park now," He informed us, looking at us expectantly.

Brandon and I got out of the carriage, and Brandon pulled out a few bills to pay the driver with. "How about we get something to eat, and then we can take a cab to the Expo. We should make it right before Hammer does his demonstration," Brandon offered.

I shook off my uneasy feelings towards Brandon, maybe he just got nervous. "Yeah, let's do it, I won't be on the stage at all, so I don't need to be dressed up. We can just go straight to the Expo," I agreed. When we finally got the cab Brandon directed him to a place pretty close to Times Square.

"It's the best pizza place I have ever been to, you're going to love it," Brandon assured, "It's pretty low key too, so you probably won't get recognized either."

"That's good," I nodded, rubbing my arms nervously, "I'm sorry that you have to hide while you're here, I just want to be able to experience things like everybody else does without being mobbed," I admitted.

Brandon nodded sympathetically, "I understand, it must be hard to be famous all the time, I know that I would want a break."

I nodded, frowning, "Yeah, it is hard sometimes, but I know that it is the price I have to pay for being adopted by someone like him. Lately I've been wondering if it was all worth it. I know that my life has been ultimately better by being adopted by Tony… but all I ever wanted was a family, and right now I don't feel like he is family," I admitted to Brandon. What I am saying is true, lately I have been wondering if it was all worth it. Was it? At this point I would have wanted Pepper to adopt me much more than Tony. It would have saved me a lot of heartbreak at least.

"Really?" Brandon asked, sounding interested, "That would change things," he added, sounding pensive.

"I know that if I didn't do it I would have never met you," I said quickly, hoping that he wasn't taking what I said in the wrong way, "It's just that I have to think of everything in the long term, this is my life after all…"

"Yeah… yeah that makes sense," He replied, his eyebrows furrowed.

The cab stopped in front of the small shop, I reached to pay, but Brandon beat me to it. "You're never going to let me pay, are you?" I asked with a laugh.

"I told you, today is my treat, you're not allowed to pay this time," He answered, leading me into the shop.

"This time?" I asked, looking at him slyly, "What makes you think there will be a second, maybe I'll get bored of you," I joked.

Brandon smirked in reply, "How about you find us a seat and I'll order us the pizza?"

"Yeah, I'll go get one," I replied, smiling.

I walked towards the back of the shop, careful to keep my head down. There weren't very many people in here, but that doesn't mean that no one will recognize me. The shop itself wasn't anything special, it was a simple order at the front, wait for your food, and then pick your own seat pizza place. But I had heard that that was the best kind of place to go to in New York. I finally made my way to the back of the restaurant, choosing a booth to sit in. I sat on the side that faced the back of the restaurant. At least this way I won't be facing the room and there will be a very small possibility of anyone seeing me. Sighing, I took my sunglasses and beanie off, running my hands through my hair. Brandon has been acting very strange today, is he just nervous? He really doesn't have a reason to be, he hasn't been nervous before.

"I got you cheese, they didn't have red peppers, sorry," He apologized, putting the tray between us.

"Don't worry, cheese is fine," I reassured him, taking my plate off of the tray and taking a bite of the pizza to show Brandon that I didn't mind. "This is amazing!" I exclaimed between chews.

Brandon smirked, sitting down across from me, "I told you!"

We ate in silence for a few moments before Brandon spoke up, "You know, I'm glad that you didn't get hurt when that guy attacked your dad. Where were you anyway? I thought that you would have wanted to be in the middle of the action," He said conversationally, looking down at his pizza.

I hoped that shock didn't betray my features, because I was shocked. Brandon is getting too close. "That guy was dangerous, he could have killed me," I replied offhandedly, out the window behind Brandon, carefully averting my eyes from him.

"When Rhodey and your dad were fighting you could have been killed, but you went anyway, I just don't see how that is any different."

"Tony would never kill me, that is the difference," I retorted, I am starting to get angry, what is Brandon trying to accuse me of? He surely can't know. Can he?

"Who is Iron Maiden, you of all people should know, she fights with your dad. Surely you have seen her without all of that armor on."

I shook my head, "I've told you before, I don't know who she is, and neither does Tony. What are you after?" I asked, trying to hide my worry and nervousness. Brandon looked at me with scrutiny.

"I think you do know. You know, she looks so much like you, you are proba-"

I stood up quickly, unable to listen to him any longer, "I need to go. I can't do this right now."

I put on my sunglasses and started walking away at a quick pace. I need to get to the Expo now! A firm hand grabbed my upper arm, preventing me from moving forward, "You're not going anywhere, Iro-"

I whipped around, letting my armor form over my fingers and knuckles I punched Brandon hard in the stomach. Brandon grunted, leaning over, holding his stomach in pain. I then had my armor form over my knee under my clothes, and raised it hard into Brandon's groin. Brandon dropped to his knees, rolling onto his stomach and moaned in pain. I made sure that my armor was gone, and ran out of the shop. I was just dialing Pepper's number when something stabbed into my upper arm. I dropped my phone, turning to look at a tall, muscular man. He kept a firm grip on my arm, while taking the syringe out of my arm.

I let out an enraged yell, turning and punching him solidly in the throat. I retracted my armor, which had formed over my knuckles. The man dropped to his knees, his hands over his throat. I was starting to attract the attention of the people on the street, most of which were gasping and watching the display. Another man appeared from an all black limousine, cracking his knuckles. He swung at my head, I ducked underneath his fist, rushing in towards his body. I noticed that my body was already reacting sluggishly. I need to get out of here now, soon it will be too late. I raised my knee to his groin, putting in as much force as I could. The man staggered backwards, but he did not fall. Instead he laughed while another of his companions exited the limo. Breathing hard, I looked around at for someplace I could use as an escape route. Seeing nothing, I turned back to the men.

I grinned at them, "I'm not going down without a fight," I informed them, hoping that there aren't more of them in the limo. The pair of men laughed, advancing on me menacingly.

"I am not afraid of you, little girl. The sedative will set in soon."

The man who had said nothing lunged towards me, I rolled away, getting cleanly to my feet. The other man stepped towards me. He grabbed at me, but I grabbed onto his arm, twisting it back, then rushing forward, I leapt so I could hold his neck with my thighs, twisting my body forward. The man fell, leaving me still restraining him by holding his arm back, pressing hard on his neck with my legs. I squeezed hard before untangling myself from him, looking at the other man.

"I can't believe that actually worked," I mused, guess I don't need Natalie's help with that one. The other man wasted no time checking on his buddy, he saw that I was distracted, and took a step towards me.

The hit landed cleanly to my temple, I was out before I could even hit the ground.

** A/N The traitor! Who does he think he is?**

**Who do we think Brandon is working with, or is he working by himself? What do we think? **

**To those who reviewed- thanks guys! I'm glad that you liked it!**

**Please review. I know I say this a lot, but it really means a lot to me, and helps me write things that are more enjoyable for you. **

**Until next time!**


	15. The Captors

**A/N Hello all, thank you for the continued support of this story! It truly means a lot.**

**So we're nearing the end. We may have two-ish chapters left, so don't get to worrying just yet. School has been kicking my ass in a way that it has never done before. I don't have as much writing time as I would have liked because of it. But fear not, I have the rest of this story pre-written, and school soccer is almost over so I'll have more time once that's over. As for any other story that may come from me, it may take a little to get put out. Sorry, but I really just haven't had the time. I just wanted all of you to know that that is the reason if I ever have an extended leave of absence you know why. Now that that is taken care of, enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer- Luna is mine. The rest is not mine. **

I woke up dazed. My eyes opened, but everything was blurry and I couldn't discern any differences in anything. I can see vague shapes through the blur, but I can't tell what anything is.

Think… _Think!_ What happened? I… I got ambushed… but by who? Who would have an incentive to kidnap me right now? Surely a lot of people. But who could have been close enough to get Brandon in on it? Of course Brandon could have been in on something else to do with Tony and just befriended me when the opportunity presented itself… No… that can't be right… he talked to me before he knew I was adopted by Tony… unless he lied about that. No. No he was genuine in the beginning, so who got close enough to him to get Brandon to do their dirty work through me? Ivan Vanko is dead, so he is out. So is Obadiah, and unless some associate of my birth father that remained loyal to him is around he is out too… So who is desperate enough to kidnap me that I know? They are suspicious of me being Iron Maiden, so I need to be careful… I can either reveal myself, and escape, or I can hang around and see if I get rescued. No. That is out of the question, I don't want to be indebted to anyone any more.

"Now I am not in a good mood… _Now_ I am not in a good mood. Is she awake yet? I want her awake!" A childish voice yelled from somewhere behind me. I know that voice… My anger spiked, reaching its peak, even though my vision is blurry I could tell that all of the lights dimmed in the room.

Whatever I was lying on shook violently, "Wake up!"

I sat up obediently, pressing my back against what I was once staring at, facing where I could hear the voices coming from. Bars. I'm in a cage? They put me in a cage?

"Good, I worked too hard to get you here to have you sleep all day, now I-"

"What did you use on me? I can't see," I complained, completely cutting off none other than Justin Hammer. Hammer is the one who kidnapped me. This doesn't come as such a surprise after what he did at the hearing. Not that that warranted kidnapping, but it is early signs of aggression. I should have expected Hammer to do something stupid after Dad embarrassed him publically, like he did. I just don't think that he was capable of being _this _stupid. But apparently Hammer _really _is desperate for the spotlight.

"What is she talking about? What are you talking about? I didn't give you anything that could blind you- if this is one of your tricks it isn't going to work!" Hammer yelled, it is clear that he is already paranoid about something else. And stressed. Maybe his plan isn't working. It wouldn't be the first time.

I frowned. Is he lying to me about the blindness? I won't be of much use to him blind, even if I can still see vague outlines of everything. Is it possible that he and his accomplices are so stupid that they could have accidentally blinded me? Or is something else going on here?

"Well," I replied bitterly, "I wasn't blind before your moronic henchmen punched me in the face, and now that I am here and have woken up, I am blind. So, either your man very possibly gave me a severe concussion, the sedative you gave me has not completely worn off yet, or you have blinded me on purpose to upset Tony and provoke him into attacking you, which I would advise against doing, by the way."

The bars on my cage rattled, possibly because someone was angry and was trying to scare me. One nice thing about not being able to see is that the things you can't see won't be able to scare you, unless they touch you, of course.

"That puts a damper on my plan… I _was_ going to provoke Tony into attacking me by showing him that I have the war machine armor and you, but now this could be bad… George! Get her out of the cage!" Hammer suddenly yelled to one of his henchmen.

There was a squeak of a door opening before I was grabbed by my arms and roughly pulled out of the cage. I stumbled, waving my hands around to grab on to something to keep myself from falling over. I fell to my knees. Taking a deep breath, I reached out with my telekinesis. The thing about telekinesis is that you can manipulate all of your surroundings with it. At first it is extremely overwhelming. To be able to use the telekinesis you have to be able to focus it on one specific object to be able to move it, or do whatever you want with it. So in the beginning, or when you are not concentrating, instead of using the telekinesis on one specific object you can end up using it on everything. So, you could end up increasing the pressure in the whole room, which could break a light bulb. It could also make everything in the room rattle. In this case, it can allow me to 'see' the room.

Thank god for freaky powers that you can get if your father experimented on you as a child.

I was shoved forward by a tall man behind me. Hammer is a few steps in front of me with three men between us, each a varying height, Hammer being the shortest. I was lead down a few different hallways, and I tried 'looking' in each of them, but I didn't get a chance to 'see' much, most of the doors are closed, and although I could try and see into them, I thought against it. It takes a lot more energy to do that, and by the looks of how things are going to turn out tonight, I think that I am going to need it.

"Here's your room. I think that you will find its inhabitants… appealing."

Before I could say a word of protest I was shoved into the room, hard. Still not used to my new way of 'seeing' I stumbled, cracking my knee on a desk, and fell.

"Heh. I get one of the Starks delivered at my feet," a heavily accented man said. I stayed where I was, not bothering to raise my head. Even though I can't see, I know that the man in front of me is Ivan Vanko. Somehow alive even though he is supposed to be dead. The man's build here is the same as Vanko's, as is his voice. Oh shit.

Just as quickly as I recognized the man in front of me, he was on his feet. At first I thought he was moving to kill me, but I felt him pass me. In moments the two guards were hanging from the ceiling. I could feel their life drain from their bodies. I bit my lip to prevent myself from stopping the man. I need to wait for the proper time. When he isn't paying attention. Then I can escape.

"What made idiot bring you to me?" Ivan asked. I could tell he wasn't an immediate threat to me. His posture is unthreatening, relaxed. He wants to have a conversation?

"Apparently Hammer believes that I am crucial to the downfall of my father. Although since he delivered me to you, my recent bout of blindness might have foiled his plans," I told Ivan truthfully. I am trying to be strategic. Ivan may not realize that I am Iron Maiden yet, though if Hammer knew that I am he probably learned it from Ivan. But if he doesn't know that I am Iron Maiden, then telling him that I am injured will make him believe that I am not a threat. Therefore he won't want to waste his time dealing with me immediately. I can wait.

Ivan nodded, "That would complicate things," He agreed, turning his back to me, sitting at what feels like a computer. Good. Let him believe that I am not a threat.

I moved into a more comfortable sitting position. Ivan whipped his head around at the sound of my movement, but when he must have seen the innocence in my actions he faced back towards the computer.

"So why did Hammer save you from the prison? Seems like a lot of work," I inquired innocently. If I am here I might as well try and get some information from the man.

I could feel the man's lips turn up into a smirk. "Hammer wanted me to create suit that would outdo your father's," Vanko said, not bothering to turn from his work. I started to pay less attention to him, and started 'looking' at everything else in the room. Ignoring the two now dead, hanging men, I focused on the other parts of the room. On the desk lay what I was fearing to see, or in this case feel. The whips. The electrified whips. One exploration of the man's tech made it absolutely clear to me that he had improved the tech of all of his weapons. Not good.

"Hammer has probably given you everything you need then," I replied, hopefully conveying a defeated sigh.

"Yes. More than enough…"

"I can't believe you are actually doing what he wants, though. That doesn't sound like you at all, you seemed much more self motivated. I guess it is true what they say, people will do anything for money these days," I baited. I know that if he were to attack me without the suit on that I would be able to fend him off at the very least. I zoned my focus on him, but to my surprise, he was smiling.

"Heh. Big words from little girl. I am not here to do moron's bidding. Simply entertaining lesser minds," He explained. I frowned at this, but directed my attention elsewhere. If he didn't attack me after I practically insulted his integrity I doubt he is going to attack me at all. Let's hope that I am right.

"So no suits then? What are you making if it isn't suits?" I asked, genuinely curious. If Vanko has something bigger planned for all of this, then we are all in trouble.

"You know Hammer has presentation for Stark Expo, yes?" Vanko returned my question with a question.

"You're providing him with suits for the presentation…" I voiced my thoughts aloud, "Hammer said he was doing a weapon's display for the military. He never mentioned suits…"

"Guess you will hear about it later," Ivan replied offhandedly. I frowned at the small jib at my inability to see. He'll pay for that one.

"So, Tony kind of explained this one to me before, but what's up with your crazy vendetta towards my family?" I asked. I had heard a shortened version of it before, but I would like to hear about it from the culprit himself.

"Your family betrayed mine. Your grandfather worked with my father on arc reactor. Howard betrayed my father, and from him I have learned everything I know. For over forty years my family suffered from your family's betrayal. It is time I return favor." Vanko explained.

I bit my lip. Revenge. I won't be able to convince him out of this, especially because he believes my family betrayed his. But how does the Expo tie in to Vanko's revenge? Unless the suits are a part of his plan… that would make sense. But how? Are they going to blow up the moment my father arrives? No. That is too short. Vanko will want it drawn out and painful, which will mean that he will want to be there to destroy my father. What if the suits are only a distraction?

"Are you sure that that is _our _fault? From what I heard your father was a traitor," I baited again. This time Ivan whipped around in his seat.

"No! Your family betrayed mine! For years your family got to have fame and fortune while my family got dirt! I was entitled to everything your father has! I hated him! I wanted to kill him! Then I learned he is using my father's technology to keep himself alive! I could not stand for it! Then I hear that he adopted a daughter. I knew then that to discontinue the Stark line would not end with killing him. Now you have his name. And you must be eliminated too," Vanko conceded. My blood ran cold with his last statement.

"So why not kill me now?" I questioned, realizing that Vanko had not even attempted to harm me yet.

"I still need bait, little girl,"

I hadn't noticed the man moving towards me until it was too late. Something was pressed against my neck. I felt the shocks run through my body. My whole body slumped, then went rigid. I can't move. And the electricity even translated into my abilities. Now I am actually truly blind. Oh fuck.

"Don't need any Iron Maiden business ruining plans. Big show tonight," Vanko told evilly. More than anything in this moment I wanted to choke him with my telekinesis.

What was even worse than not being able to move for god knows how long, I could feel the growing pressure in my head. It was increasing at an alarming rate, and although I cannot remember exactly how much my head hurt before I 'exploded' last time, I know that this is close to it. I can't blow up here. I need to be able to warn Tony and Pepper!

The most annoying thing for me to have done is to have my eyes closed when Vanko shocked me with his taser. Not that I could see well before, but I can't even tell if my eyesight is getting any better, or any worse. I know that last time I blew up random things starting going wrong with my body. Is it possible that instead of getting extremely bad reflexes and balance, that I could have temporarily, or permanently lost my eyesight?

After about an hour or so of only being able to hear the clicks of Ivan's keyboard along with his occasional humming, I started to realize that I am beginning to regain the control of my muscles. I opened my eyes, angrily realizing that the haze is actually worse. I tentatively reached out with my telekinesis, closing my eyes so I can 'see' better. Ivan was reaching for a phone.

"How about we give Daddy a call, eh?" Ivan asked wickedly. Although I realized that I could move my mouth moments before I forced myself not to reply. I need to wait for the proper moment…

The phone is ringing. I want him to pick it up, but I don't. He needs to know that he can't come for me. He has to go to the Expo and stop those suits.

"Hey Tony, How you doing? I double cycle," Ivan greeted. I have to time this right if this is going to work. There was a space before Ivan spoke again, " You told me double cycles more power," Ivan restated.

Stronger arc reactor? Shit. That means more powerful whips.

"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy," Dad's voice rang through the room. If it weren't for my spotty telekinesis telling me that Vanko was looking straight at me when he was talking I would have flinched.

"You too," Ivan replied, I frowned at this, Dad - dead guy? "Now, true history of Stark name will be written," Vanko told, still looking straight at me, "What your father did to my family over forty years, I will do in forty seconds," Ivan threatened. Does that mean he will kill me now?

"Sounds good, let's get together and hash it out," Dad replied, though I could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"I hope you're ready, by way. I have something you will want back," Ivan said. I knew he was about to hang up, so this was my only chance.

"Dad!" I yelled, my speech slurred, "Suits at Expo! Go for suits at Expo! I am the bait! He is baiting you!" I screamed. "Don't come here!"

"Lun-"

"Insolent girl!" Ivan raged.

He stomped over to me slapping me hard with the back of his hand across the face. I gasped, falling backwards to the floor, the smacking sound echoing in the room. He grabbed on to my arms as I tried to reach for my face. The moment he touched me I tried to wrestle with him so he would let go of me, but he had a firm grip on my arms and I am still having a tough time moving as it is. He shook me then settled with shoving me roughly into something that felt suspiciously like a suit. The thing closed. Yep. Definitely feels like a suit. My muscles were still not quite ready to move yet, but they may be in about ten or twenty minutes. "This is spare suit I built before drones. It will be in demonstration too. You will watch as you destroy your own father!" He yelled.

…

**A/N**

**Ouch, that was harsh. Questions to answer: Do we think Luna's blindness will be permanent if she survives the supernova? Do we think she ****_will_**** survive supernova? Will she be able to escape Vanko's suit? What do you think Luna's new power will be?**

**Please review. Reviews are what really make me enjoy writing on this site and help me improve my writing. Sorry to leave you all off on a cliffhanger again, but I think it was the best place to leave the story off on. **

**Until next time!**


	16. Battle of the Expo

**A/N Short update today, guys. I apologize, I just really want to make one more chapter out of what I have left. I'll update tomorrow with the ending, so you don't have to wait for it. Normally I would have made you wait a little longer, but I have a tournament in New York this weekend, and the hotel has internet, but I would rather not risk it. I hope you all understand.**

**Disclaimer: Luna is the only thing that is mine. Some other things might be mine, but if it sounds Marvel-y it is Marvel's.**

I had tried yelling. I tried screaming. But I could not get the attention of the men who were in charge of moving the suits. I was starting to get my muscle control back, but it is coming back too slowly. It might be another half an hour before I have enough control to manipulate my surroundings with my telekinesis. What is possibly the worst thing is that I can't see. I am quite literally in the dark. I screamed and shouted with frustration, I can barely move my body, but somehow I can move my mouth. What the hell am I going to do to stop this?

A half an hour later I think I am at the Expo. The feel of movement stopped, and from what I could tell I am standing upright. This is _so_ not good.

I could hear Hammer introducing the drones, but I wasn't listening. My head felt as if it was about to explode, and I know from experience that it is probably going to. But, I realized that I was starting to get my telekinetic abilities back. I reached out, and after a loud cheer from the crowd I realized that there were two independent suits in front of me. The suit closer to me is off. It isn't an Iron Man design, but it is. It has attached weapons that don't seem to work. The other one is a clear Iron Man design, and I know right off of the bat that that is my father.

Suddenly my suit went live. I can actually feel it come to life. Oh shit. I am actually going to be stuck in a suit that is going to be going after my father. Fuck.

I desperately tried to move, succeeding only slightly. I gave up on using my muscles immediately. My hand raised without myself telling it to do so. He is remotely controlling the suit. I could feel the suit firing at the two suits before it took off flying. I tried desperately to move my body, to throw it off course. It is then that I realized that it wasn't my muscles that weren't working correctly, it is that the suit wasn't allowing me to move. Clenching my muscles, I tried to raise my inner suit.

Instead of having the suit encase me, I had it protrude like spikes on a porcupine. I must have hit something, because I now have control of the suit. The suit dropped, all thrusters turned off. I made my suit on my hands curve to spikes, and ripped the Vanko suit off of me. Still falling through the air, I started to panic. Although I can 'see' with my telekinesis, I'm still not used to it, and the last thing I want to do, for lack of a better term, 'go splat'.

My armor formed around me without fail, I took off as fast as I could without crashing into any buildings. My communications with my father's helmet are also online. We are flying over the Expo. I fought to catch up with him, letting my own energy seep into the power reserves, giving me the boost I needed. "On your left!" I exclaimed, crashing into one of the drones that was on Dad's tail. I formed my gloves into spikes, plunging them into the chest of the drone. Sparks flew from the now punctured chest plate. I landed on top of the drone as it created a small crater in the concrete.

"Luna?" Dad's voice crackled into my ears. As much as I wanted to chew him out, I know now isn't the time or the place.

"You're welcome," I replied, not paying attention to him. Getting up, I took off again, preparing to take down yet another one of the drones. The quicker I get this done and over with, the better chance I have of getting to a secluded place to self destruct.

"Did you catch how many drones there are, are there only these ones, or are there more?" I questioned. I should have been paying more attention at the Expo! If I were to reach out far enough away to see the ground of the Expo I would start losing energy, and possibly create my own destruction. This is probably the most frustrating thing to ever happen in my life. If I am blind forever I don't know what I will do.

"You didn't see them?" Dad asked incredulously.

Despite the situation I couldn't help but laugh, "No, I'm actually a little blind right now. A lot, actually. I can't see a thing," I admitted, catching up to him, the drones still hadn't locked on to me yet. I'm not sure if Vanko had just not noticed me yet, or if he was getting amused by my attempts to save my father.

"What?! What do you mean? How are you flying, what is-"

"No time to explain now," I yelled, pushing the suit harder to re-catch up with the drones. "By the way, who is in the independent suit behind you? That looks like War Machine but it can't be Ro-"

"That's Rhodey," Dad interrupted, "Vanko's got his suit locked down, you have any idea how to fix it?" He asked, swerving to avoid the drone's fire.

"No actually, I guess it would have been better to try and get that out of Vannko," I thought out loud. "JARVIS, can you patch me into Rhodey's suit please? If getting me in Rhodey's suit makes Vanko able to hear me, don't," I told the AI. If Vanko will be able to hear me, that could ruin everything.

"Yes Ma'am. Brain levels are reaching the highest I have recorded, by the way," JARVIS warned.

I cursed. At this rate I'll be set to blow at any moment.

"Brain levels, what is he talking abo-"

We started getting fired at from drones on the ground. We all swerved to avoid the explosives, but one of the drones chasing Dad was hit. It fell to the ground, bouncing as it went.

"Shit that was close!" I exclaimed.

"Distract them for a second," Dad commanded, "I need to take care of something!"

Dad started to dive down, so I did the only thing that I knew would work. Putting more of my own energy into the suit, I dive bombed the drones, catching Rhodey in a bear hug. The drones all swerved to make sure they weren't hit, but Rhodey and I dropped.

Rhodey's suit blasted me in the face, causing me to let go and fall, hitting the ground hard.

"Nice work, kid," I heard Dad say.

Groaning, I got to my feet and took off after Dad yet again.

"You've got multiple coming in on you," I heard Rhodey say, presumably to Dad.

"Let's get them away from the Expo," Dad said.

They were out of reach of my telekinetic abilities, so for a moment I hung in the air, at a loss for what to do. Then, I had an idea, "JARVIS, set a flight plan for my father's and Rhodey's position. Make the suit go as fast as you can, I'll put in as much energy as you need. Also, please perform a health examination on my eyes," I asked. I need to know what is wrong with them. If this is going to be permanent I need to know.

"Miss, I would advise against using your powers further. It may cause you to-"

"I know the risks, Jarvis! Just do it!" I yelled, frustrated. I could hear Rhodey and my father talking to each other, but I ignored it, instead focusing on slowly releasing my power into the suit. My headache is only increasing, which is a very bad sign. If it weren't for my suit being on autopilot I probably would have fallen out of the air.

"Miss, the problem with your eyes is that there is currently too much brain activity. Your eyes are being overloaded with sensory input, which is causing your vision to be blurry," Jarvis informed me.

"So when the brain activity goes down I will be able to see again?" I asked, making sure to clarify with him before I got my hopes up.

"I cannot say for certain, but if I were to guess, the answer would be yes. I have no previous record of this ever happening, so I cannot give a definite answer, miss," Jarvis replied.

"Luna. What's this about increased brain activity?" Dad's voice rang through my helmet, sounding concerned.

Just because I am helping my father not die, doesn't mean that I am in any way forgiving him. In fact, I am still extremely angry at him. I am just capable of working together with him for his sake. I don't want to see him die. "It's not like you care anyway," I told him bitterly.

There was an irritated grunt before he said something, "Luna. I messed up, but that doesn't mean that I don't care. Now, what is this about increased brain activity? Why can't you see?" He asked forcefully.

I would have replied, but we were flying through a parking garage. Jarvis had given me back control of the suit a few moments prior. I had successfully caught up to Rhodey and Dad. We sped through the garage, I started panicking, the pain in my head was making it increasingly harder to use my telekinesis, and that meant it was getting increasingly harder to see. I swerved in and out of the concrete poles, lagging towards the back of the drones. They started shooting at Dad again. I vaguely saw him change direction, I swerved too, egging my suit on to go faster. I dug my spiked hands into one of the suits, making it go crashing into a Honda Accord. I landed on top of it. Sparks flew from the drone. One of them hit me, and my whole arm lit up bright yellow.

I sat there, stumped for a few moments before it hit me. It had to be electricity. "Holy shit…" I muttered, staring at my arm until it went back to its normal color.

"What- what's wrong?" Rhodey asked nervously.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm coming. One more drone down," I said, hurriedly leaping into the air.

"Listen, listen, a pack just peeled off. They're heading for the Expo," Rhodey told us anxiously.

"Got it," Dad replied busily.

Then, it felt as if my head had exploded. "Ah!" I screamed, falling down, smashing through at least four cars. I curled up my body, my hands holding my head. If I didn't know any better I would have said that I was holding it together. The pain traveled down my neck, and into the rest of my body. No, no! I can't self destruct now! If I can hold it off for a few more minutes I can at least take some drones down with me!

"What! What's wrong! I can circle back around-"

"No!" I yelled, sitting up straight, despite the pain in my head. "You need to keep going! Don't worry about me, I'm fine," I told the two of them, but they must have been able to hear the pain clear in my voice.

"Like hell I am, I'm going ba-"

"Tony, you can't, you need to focus on getting rid of the drones!" Rhodey ordered. Bless his soul.

Dad grumbled, but surprisingly didn't argue.

"Closing on you! Coordinates coming in hot Tony, watch it!" Rhodey exclaimed.

Groaning, and still holding my head tightly, I asked Jarvis to get Dad's suit's flight pattern and put me on a pattern to catch up with him. Jarvis warned of my ever increasing brain activity levels, but I told him that if he mentions it again that I would make sure he got a Canadian accent the next time I was at a computer instead of a British one. That shut him up. Once I got the flight course I focused on slowly releasing my energy into the suit. I am not sure how much time has passed, but all I know is I could hear my father and Rhodey talking, and then all of a sudden I am soaring through the air. I rushed, using my telekinesis to see. I landed down on the ground in some water just in time to see Rhodey and Dad go flying through the air. I forced myself to concentrate on making sure that my knees didn't buckle underneath me. I did manage to catch Dad say, "Yes, at the moment I'm not dying."

"What do you mean you're dying!" Pepper and I both asked. "You're dying?" Pepper asked.

"That you?" Dad asked, whipping his head around to face me. "Uh… no. I'm not. Not anymore," Dad answered quickly.

"What's going on?" Pepper asked.

"I didn't tell you I didn't want to alarm you-"

"You didn't tell me you were dying!"

"You didn't let me-"

"Why didn't you tell that!"

"I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you!"

"Hey, hey save it for the honeymoon you've got incoming Tony. Looks like the fight is coming to you," Natalie interrupted.

"Alright, Pepper-"

"Are you okay now?" She asked worriedly.

"I am fine, don't be mad, I will forma-"

"I am mad-"

"Fending off a hammeroid attack," Dad finished.

"Fine," Pepper said begrudgingly.

"We could have been in Venice," Dad said.

"Oh please."

I was trying to keep the pain from overtaking me that whole time, otherwise I would have been yelling at my father too. He was dying? All of a sudden, my knees buckled. I dropped like a rag doll.

**Ouch. That does not sound good. Supernova might be coming soon. I hope we caught what Luna's new power is. **

**Please review. Reviewing helps me write better chapters for you guys, and it also makes me more motivated to write. **

**I'll announce what will become of me and my writing tomorrow after I publish the final update to the chapter. **

**Until next time!**


	17. Not With a Bang but With A

**A/N Here we are. The final chapter. I apologize for having it so short, but as I said yesterday, I wanted those to be two separate chapters, I just feel better about it this way. **

**Disclaimer:Luna is mine. Other Marvel-esque things are Marvel's.**

"Luna!" Both Rhodey and my father gasped, the latter sounding much more worried and scared.

I tried my best to swallow the hurt. If I can hold this in for long enough to tell my father and Rhodey to get as far away as they can possibly get then I will have succeeded. Rhodey and my father were kneeling close to my face. I could tell they were saying something, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Ugh…" I moaned before pushing myself into a kneeling position.

"Luna! Tell me what is going on right now! What is Jarvis saying about raised brain activity levels?" Dad asked worriedly.

Now is the time to tell him. It is the only way that I'll get him to leave me. "Ever- every single time I get a new power I- I kind of blow up. I call it supernova-ing. My new power flares out. The last time it happened I created a fiery explosion. It was so hot the government thought I was a bomb. You guys _need_ to get out of here! I don't know what I am going to do. I could kill you both!" I explained to them urgently. The whole time I was explaining I was gasping and writhing in pain. The thing is, the more I hold this in, the more it hurts me. I know that this is the end. I'm going to explode sometime soon, the only question is when, and who will be around me?

"Luna, I am not leaving you. There is no way," Dad said stubbornly.

"Heads up, you've got one more drone incoming. This one looks different, repulsor signature is significantly higher," Natalie informed us ominously. That's it. This is my only chance to convince them. I lurched to my feet, grabbing on to Rhodey's shoulder's to steady myself.

"Rhodey," I began, "Please understand. You are in the military. You know what the meaning of sacrifice is. Please. Let me do this. I am going to explode whether or not you and Dad stay. I don't know if this supernova is going to kill me. It might be. I don't want this to be my last stand, but please, if it has to be, don't let you or Dad be here when it happens!" I begged.

Dad began to try and protest, but a loud thud sounded behind us. We all whipped around to see Ivan standing in an Iron Man –esque suit. "Good to be back," He announced to us all.

I turned back to Rhodey. "Please," I plead. Looking at him as if my life depends on it, even though he can't see me because of my mask. I could never live with myself knowing I killed them.

In an instant Rhodey turned to Dad.

"What? No, no-" Rhodey took off speedily, grabbing Dad around the middle and took off into the air with him fighting against him.

I took a deep breath. "Jarvis, can you turn off communications with Rhodey and Dad please?" I asked. There is no need for them to hear my screams.

"Mrs. Stark, I think it is unwise to-"

"Jarvis, I didn't ask for your opinion. Terminate the communications," I ordered. Dad's angry arguing was silenced.

"No surprise, traitor son left his daughter to die," Ivan commented.

"How did you know that I am his daughter? I never told anyone," I asked suspiciously. Aside from a few close calls I had hid my identity well up until this point. How did he find out?

"Stark is not only one who can break into security systems. When I learned that Stark got a daughter I tried my best to learn about you. When I learned who your father was it became easy. Your home life was very shocking," Vanko taunted wickedly.

He's baiting me. I know he's baiting me, so why do I want to beat the hell out of him?

"My dad said that you know how to destroy me. What do you think you can do that will destroy me?" I asked, playing for time. My headache is building, which is a good indication that I will self destruct soon. I need to time this just right.

Electrified whips that are much larger than the last version slid out from the armor on Ivan's arms. I cringed, forcibly holding back the flashbacks. I can't remember this now. If I lose it now I am done for. "Let's find out," Ivan suggested.

He whirled his whips in circles, advancing on me. I saw his face flicker with confusion just as his mask covered his face when he realized that I too was advancing on him. The first whip soared towards me. I tried to dodge it. I really did, but the end of the whip flicked and hit me in the chest, sending me crashing into a boulder. The boulder cracked. I looked back in time to see a purple tinge disappear. I just cracked that rock. I had my back to Ivan for too long. I noticed the whip flinging towards me too late. I turned, only to have the whip wrap around my chest, flinging me towards Vanko. The whip released me. I dropped like a rag doll at Ivan's feet.

So this is what it will feel like to die. The pain had become so utterly excruciating I am surprised that I am even still conscious at this point. I barely notice when Vanko's armored foot clamps down on my body and holds me in place. I closed my eyes. Then, I exploded.

Tony's POV

"Rhodey let me go!" Tony yelled, his armored hands scrambling on any sort of purchase that the War Machine suit had to offer. Apparently it has none. He looked over the shoulder of Rhodey's suit at the two enemies below. He would do anything to get down there, to stop what seems like the inevitable outcome of the two's fight. Most of all, he wanted to talk Luna out of this. _But she turned her god damned communications off!_

"Tony, you need to let her do this! Soldiers do-"

"She is _not_ a soldier!" Tony yelled, absolutely livid, "She is my little girl, and she is one of the only things I can't live without!" Tony screamed desperately, grabbing at Rhodey's suit, hoping that he would be able to escape Rhodey's iron like grip. Gold-titanium alloy grip. Whatever.

"She has to do this Tony! Right now _she_ is the big gun!"

Tony was about to argue when he looked back down at the two people below him. Luna was clamped underneath Ivan's armored foot, his whip raised. "Luna, **_no_**!"

The moment the whip made contact with Luna it was as if a bomb went off. Both Rhodey and Tony were flung backwards from the force of the blast. The deafening sound drowned out Tony's cries. Then, there was the electrical cloud that followed. The cloud reached past the metal outline of the globe that Luna and Ivan were previously inside. Through the cloud Tony could just barely see the metal structure of the globe collapsing. Then, a lightning bolt struck down, and everything was silent.

Rhodey had let go of Tony out of pure surprise when the explosion happened. Tony flew down to the ground as fast as possible, fearing the worst. She has to be dead. No one can survive that. She better not be dead. Don't be dead. Please don't be dead.

Tony landed hard on the wreckage of the once beautiful place. The water was splashed everywhere, and the metal globe structure was in piles on the ground, some of it melted, the rest of it brittle. Most of the greenery was either singed black or on fire. Dust still hung in the air from the explosion.

"Luna?" Tony called desperately, looking around the wrecked place wildly. He started shifting the metal, searching for her. She had surely been buried when the globe had collapsed.

"Tony, I'm sorry. I don't think you're going to find he-"

"No! She's alive! She has to be alive!" Tony exclaimed desperately. She needs to be alive. He never got the chance to apologize, to make things right. He doesn't want her to be dead. She _can't_ be dead. What will he do without her?

"Tony-"

Rhodey was interrupted by beeping. The two men looked up at each other, before looking around. They saw the drones' arc reactors glowing red. "Tony, these drones are rigged to explode!" Rhodey exclaimed the moment he realized why the drones were beeping.

It was in that moment that Tony realized the other person that he couldn't live without. "Pepper!" He realized, taking off as quickly as he possibly could. At least he could try and make one thing right.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

"She- she's dead Pepper…" Tony said, realizing that he couldn't lie to himself anymore. There is no way that she could have escaped that collapse. His whole body ached, but it wasn't because of the battle he had just fought. He felt as though he was going to give out at any second, and at this point he would be grateful. Not feeling anything would be better than this.

"Who, who's dead, Tony?" Pepper asked, afraid. Tony looked up at her. There were tears in Pepper's eyes, but also disbelief. After everything that Luna had gone through neither of them had thought that she would have suffered such a fate.

"Lu- Luna," Tony choked out. His anger peaked. Tony looked around for something. Something that he could destroy. Something he could throw. Finding nothing, he settled with aiming his hand at a doorway that lead to the roof that they were standing on, and putting nearly all of the energy he had into the repulsor.

The doorway exploded into bits, along with a good portion of the roof. And yet it still did not make him feel any better. How else can he deal with this grief?

Pepper jumped, completely afraid of Tony's erratic behavior. She knew that the two had bonded a great deal over the few months that they had been together, but she never knew that the girl had left such a big impact on him. She knew there is nothing she can do to make him feel any less devastated, but she wanted to. She would do anything.

Pepper felt the full extent of her loss, but she was much more composed with her feelings. Tony had lost his parents when he was young, just as Pepper was, but the only difference was that Pepper was closer with her parents when they died. Pepper knew how to deal with the pain, Tony, however, did not. This is the first time he really felt pain like this, the only comparable thing being to when his mother died. But that was a whole different type of pain. No parent should have to bury their child.

"Tony-"

"No, Pepper! If I had just stopped her, if I hadn't made her turn away from me things would have been different. She was blind, Pepper! Literally blind! She couldn't even see in her last-"

"Tony, you can't blame yourself. Some things are meant to-"

Pepper was interrupted by Tony's lips. They were harsh, but also soft. It was as if he was kissing her not only because he wanted to, but because they needed to. They broke apart, the both of them breathing heavily, "Weird?" Tony asked.

To which Pepper replied, "No, it's not weird at all."

**Please don't hate me. This story is not over. In the movie, Hammer did not have a daughter, and here, we are left with two people who are unaccounted for, Darien, and Brandon. So, we might be seeing them in the near future. Only slight problem is, I need about two weeks or so to get all of my stuff together to plan out how I want to write this, and so forth. **

**I'm not entirely sure what I want to call the next part of this story, but it might be something along the lines of "How will the Heart Survive?"**

**Thank you all for continuously reading and reviewing this story, it truly means a lot to me. I am not going away forever. I'll leave you with this, the next part of this will not be the Avengers. It'll be some things that I feel need to go between this, and the Avengers. As you can see, jumping straight into the Avengers from here may be problematic. We can't have distraught, heart-broken Tony joining the Avengers just yet, I need to rip out his heart just a little further before I think he is ready for that. **

**Until next time!**


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